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THE  LOEB  CLASSICAL  LIBRARY 

FOUNDED     BY    JAMES     LOEB,    IX.D. 

^^     .-.     ,-■ 
/    ^-  EDITED   BY 

tT.   E.   PAGE,   C.H.,   LITT.D. 

E.  CAPPS,  PH.D.,  IX.D.      W.  H.  D.  ROUSE,  litt.d. 
L.  A.  POST,  M.A.  E.  H.  WARinNGTOX, 

M.A.,   F.K.HIST.SOC. 


PRUDENTIUS 
I 


y-n- 


PRUDEI   x^IUS 

WITH  AN  ENGLISH  TRANSLATION  BY 

H.   J.   THOMSON,   D.LiTT. 

LATE  PBOFESSOR  OF  LATIX  IS  THE  inaVERSITT  COLLEGE 
OP  XOBTH  WALE3,  BASGOK 


Un  two  volumes 
I 


499010 


LONDON 

WILLIAM    HEINEMANN    LTD 

CAMBRIDGE,    MASSACHUSETTS 

HARVARD     UNIVERSITY     PRESS 

MOMXLIX 


Printed  in  Great  Britain 


(o(oLp'S 

V.l 


CONTENTS 


PACK 

IXTRODXTCnON vii 

PBAEFATIO            ........  2 

^  LIBEB  CATHEMEBIXO?T 6 

APOTHEOSIS 116 

HAMABTIGENIA  . 200 

KYCHOMACHIA 274 

COSTBA  OKATIONEM  SYMMACHI,  LIBEB  I        .            .            .  344 


INTRODUCTION 

AuRELius  Prude:itius  Clemens,  like  a  number  of 
eminent  Latin  ^Titers  of  the  classical  age,  was  bom 
in  Spain;  unlike  them,  although  he  visited  Rome, 
he  appears  to  have  hved  and  Avorked  in  his  native 
land.**  In  the  prefatory  verses  which,  in  his  fifty- 
seventh  year,  he  WTote  for  an  edition  of  his  poems,* 
he  indicates  (at  line  24)  that  he  was  born  in  the 
consulship  of  SaUa,  that  is,  in  the  year  348.  He 
does  not  name  his  birth-place,  and  there  is  no  con- 
clusive evidence  to  determine  it ;  but  his  oaati  words 
associate  his  life  with  the  north-eastern  part  of 
Spain,  and  on  such  evidence  as  we  have  it  seems 
•liost  likely  that  he  was  born  at  Caesaraugusta 
Saragossa)/  From  the  fact  that,  while  he  laments 
an  ill-spent  youth,  he  does  not  accuse  himself  of 
paganism  or  speak  of  ha\-ing  been  converted,  it  is 
inferred  that  his  parents  were  Christians.  The 
preface  goes  on  to  tell  that  after  receiving  the  usual 
literary  and  rhetorical  education  (lines  7-10)  he 
became  a  barrister  (13-15)   and  then  an   adminis- 

"  Cf.  Perist.  u,  537-548;  for  the  visit  to  Rome,  Perist.  ix, 
xi,  xii;  its  date  must  have  been  before  405,  the  year  of  the 
preface  to  the  collected  poems,  but  after  400,  since  he  describes 
the  Basilica  of  St.  Paul,  evidentlj-  as  completed. 

*  Lines  34  ff.  profess  to  be  a  programme  of  work  still  to  be 
lone,  as  if  the  preface  had  been  written  first ;  but  this  must 
irely  be  a  literary  artifice. 

'  The  question  is  discussed  by  Bergman  in  the  prolegomena 
to  his  edition,  pp.  ix,  x. 

>ii 


INTRODUCTION 

trator  (16-18) ;  and  his  career  was  crowned  with  an 
honour  to  which  he  refers  (19-21)  in  terms  somewhat 
vague,  but  probably  meaning  that  he  received  from 
the  emperor  the  rank  of  "  comes  primi  ordinis," 
which  may  have  entailed  special  duties  in  the 
province  or  have  been  merely  titular."  The  date 
and  place  of  his  death  are  unknown. 

Prudentius,  then,  is  an  example  of  the  industrious 
public  servant  who  is  also  a  man  of  letters ;  and 
although  in  much  of  his  writing  he  handled  matters 
of  Christian  doctrine,  it  is  not  as  a  theologian  that 
we  must  think  of  him,  but  as  a  man  of  letters  and  a 
whole-hearted  Roman  who  is  enthusiastic  for  the 
faith.  Fervent  Christian  as  he  is,  at  a  time  when 
the  hold  of  Christianity  on  the  cultivated  classes 
seems  to  have  been  very  insecure,  when  the  spirit 
of  literature,  even  in  a  nominal  Christian  like 
Ausonius,  is  still  essentially  pagan,  and  when  serious 
Christians  are  tending  to  separate  themselves  from 
the  world,  he  has  not  cut  himself  off  from  the  old 
culture  nor  from  the  patriotism  of  the  citizen.  He 
is  steeped  in  the  work  of  the  classical  Latin  poets 
and  suffers  no  qualms  of  conscience  over  his  love  for 
them,  such  as  afflicted  some  of  the  Fathers  of  the 
Church.  He  regards  the  pagan  literature  and  art 
not  as  things  to  be  rejected  but  as  part  of  the 
inheritance  into  which  Christian  Rome  enters ;  and 
in  appropriating  Latin  poetic  forms,  lyric,  epic, 
didactic,  he  is  willing  to  show  the  world  that  the 
subject-matter  of  the  new  faith  can  fill  the  ancient 
moulds.     At  times,  it  is  true,  his  enthusiasm  for 

"  The  word  militia  (19)  was  used  with  reference  to  civil  as 
well  as  to  military  service.  For  the  "  comites  "  see  J.  S. 
Reid  in  the  Cambridge  Medieval  History,  I,  pp.  46-48, 

viii 


INTRODUCTION 

the  old  masters  carries  him  too  far.  Discordia,  who 
in  Virgil  is  the  personification  of  strife,  naturally 
enough  becomes  Heresy  and  may  still  wear  her 
"  scissa  palla,"  and  Fides  is  easily  recognised  as  the 
CathoUc  Faith ;  Phlegethon  and  Styx  and  Acheron 
had,  no  doubt,  in  the  educated  circles  for  which 
Prudentius  ^\Tote,  become  harmless  names  with  only 
literary  associations ;  but  we  feel  that  the  limit  has 
been  passed  when  Jupiter's  epithet  "  Tonans  "  is 
used  to  designate  the  Christians'  God.  Still,  it  is 
as  a  poet  in  whom  is  embodied  a  reconciliation  be- 
tween the  new  faith  and  the  old  culture,  and  in 
whom  Christian  thought  claims  rank  in  the  world 
of  letters,  that  Prudentius  is  historically  important. 
A  similar  quality  is  seen  in  his  thoughts  of  Rome 
and  the  empire  ;  he  is  intensely  Roman  and  patriotic, 
but  there  is  a  new  character  in  his  patriotism.  The 
Christian  poet,  far  from  denying  Rome's  divine 
mission,  sees  farther  into  its  meaning  than  ^  irgil 
did.  The  purpose  which  he  discerns  in  Roman 
history  from  Aeneas  onwards  was  not  merely  to 
unite  the  world  in  peace  and  good  government,  but 
to  prepare  it  for  the  coming  of  Christ  and  for  the 
r)iritual  empire  in  which  Rome  is  to  attain  her 
_reatest  glory."  The  change  from  paganism  to 
Christianity  is  not  a  breach  >rith  the  past,  but  only 
the  last  stage  of  a  development  which  reached  its 
ideal  completion  when  the  far-off  successor  of  Aeneas 
bowed  the  knee  to  Christ ;  *  and  for  Prudentius,  as 
for  Aeneas  in  Mrgil,  Tiber  is  still  a  sacred  stream, 
not,  however,  because  it  is  associated  with  a  river- 

•  Cf.   Aeneid,  VI,   847-853;     Contra   Symm.   I,   287-290, 
■>  7-590;  II,  583fF.;  PemMi,  425  ff. 
■  Afoth.  44&-8. 

ix 


INTRODUCTION 

god,  but  because  it  flows  through  Christ's  earthly 
capital  and  past  the  tombs  of  Christian  martyrs.** 

When  Prudentius  wrote,  the  Church  had  tri- 
umphed ;  but  even  at  the  end  of  the  fourth  century 
paganism,  though  disestablished  and  officially  banned, 
was  not  dead,*  and  there  were  dangers  of  heresy 
within.  In  both  respects  he  appears  as  a  defender 
of  the  faith.  The  two  poems  entitled  Apotheosis  and 
Hamartigenia  are  indeed  concerned  with  the  refuta- 
tion of  false  doctrine,  but  even  more  with  the 
exposition  of  the  true ;  in  the  former  case  with 
reference  to  the  divine  nature  of  Christ,  in  the  latter 
to  the  question  of  evil.  Modern  writers  have 
remarked  that  the  particular  heresies  which  Pruden- 
tius chooses  to  attack  had  for  the  most  part,  at  any 
rate  in  these  precise  forms,  become  by  his  time 
matters  of  the  past.  The  explanation  is  probably  to 
be  found  in  the  fact  that  he  is  not  really  a  theolo- 
logical  controversialist  but  a  poet,  and  more  at  home 
in  setting  forth  the  positive  faith  of  the  Catholic 
Church  with  all  the  aids  of  his  poetry  and  rhetoric. 
Had  his  interest  lain  primarily  in  theology,  he  would 
scarcely  have  begun  the  Apotheosis  with  the  state- 
ment that  he  will  only  deal  with  a  few  out  of  many 
heretical  doctrines,  for  fear  of  sullying  his  orthodox 
tongue.  His  concern  is  rather  to  present  the  literary 
world  with  a  poetical  treatment  of  Christian  truth, 
following  the  long  tradition  of  didactic  poetry,  and 
he  is  content  to  take  a  background  from  past  writings 
of  professed  theologians.  In  the  two  books  against 
Symmachus   we   have   an   echo   of  what   has   been 

"  Aeneid,  VIII,  72;  Perist.  xii,  29-30. 
*  See  Dill,  Book  I,  ch.  ii.    (Particulars  of  works  which  are  re- 
ferred to  will  be  found  in  the  Select  Bibliography,  pp.  xvi-xvii.) 

X 


I 


INTRODUCTION 

called  "  the  last  great  battle  for  the  official  recog- 
nition of  paganism."  "  It  arose  out  of  the  stoppage 
of  state  payments  for  the  upkeep  of  old  priesthoods 
and  their  rites,  and  the  removal  of  the  statue  and 
altar  of  Victory  which  had  stood  for  centuries  in  the 
senate-house  at  Rome.  An  appeal  for  restoration 
and  toleration  was  presented  to  Valentinian  II  on 
behalf  of  the  senate,  whose  pagan  members  had 
carried  a  motion  to  that  effect,  by  Quintus  AureUus 
Symmachus,  prefect  of  the  city  and  the  most  admired 
orator  of  the  day,  of  whose  ability  and  eloquence 
Prudentius  speaks  with  the  greatest  respect ;  but  the 
intervention  of  Ambrose,  bishop  of  Milan,  secured  its 
rejection.  This  was  in  384,  but  it  was  neither  the 
first  nor  the  last  attempt  of  the  persistent  pagan 
party,  and  the  reign  of  Eugenius  gave  them  a  brief 
success,  soon  to  be  reversed  by  Theodosius'  defeat 
of  the  usurper  in  394.  It  was  not  till  the  early 
years  of  the  new  century  that  Prudentius  wrote  his 
Contra  Oratianem  Symmachi ;  in  Book  II  the  reigning 
emperors  are  Honorius  and  Arcadius,*  the  youthful 
sons  of  Theodosius,  who  had  succeeded  him  in  395, 
and  Une  720  refers  to  the  battle  of  Pollentia,  which 
was  fought  in  402  or  403.  Symmachus,  it  seems,  died 
about  this  time.  If  we  ask  why  at  so  late  a  date 
Prudentius  composed  this  reply  to  a  document  of  384 
and  in  it  speaks  of  Symmachus  as  if  he  were  still 
aUve,  two  facts  may  provide  the  answer.  First,  in 
spite  of  imperial  edicts  against  paganism  many  men 
in  the  upper  classes  were  still  unwilling  to  abandon 
their  old  ideas,  and  the  emperor's  efforts  were  often 

•  Accounts  of  it  are  given  in  Dill,  l.c..  Glover,  pp.  269  ff., 
Boissier,  vol.  II,  pp.  231-291,  Camh.  Med.  Hist.,  I,  114  ff. 
»  C/.  lines  7  ff. 

xi 


INTRODUCTION 

met,  as  Dill  remarks,  with  a  dead  weight  of  official 
resistance  or  negligence.  Secondly,  Symmachus, 
after  ceasing  to  be  prefect  of  tEe  city,  had  published 
his  appeal  of  384  <*  along  with  his  other  official 
relationes,  and  though  dead  yet  spoke  powerfully  to 
a  world  which  regarded  him  with  immense  admira- 
tion and  was  still  highly  susceptible  to  his  influence. 
It  is  the  posthumous  appeal  of  his  written  words 
which  Prudentius  represents  Honorius  and  Arcadius 
as  rejecting.  He  is  careful  to  define  his  own  atti- 
tude towards  the  book :  ^  it  has  deservedly  a  great 
reputation,  which  he  cannot  hope  to  diminish ;  his 
own  aim  is  purely  defensive.  He  is,  then,  putting 
forth  a  defence  of  Christianity  in  verse  which  he 
hopes  will  appeal  to  the  cultivated  readers  who 
admire  the  prose  of  Symmachus. 

These  works,  however,  represent  only  half,  or  less 
than  half,  of  Prudentius'  production.  Apart  from 
them,  he  was  a  piqijeer  in  the  creation  of  a  Christian 
literature,  and  has  the  credit  of  originating  new 
types  of  Christian  poetry,  the  literary  hymn,  the 
moral  allegory,  and  what  has  been  called  the  Chris- 
tian ballad.  Hymns  for  the  use  of  the  Church  had 
been  written  by  Ambrose,  but  they  differ  in  char- 
acter from  the  long  and  elaborate  odes  of  the  Liber 

•  This  is  Relatio  III,  on  pp.  280-283  of  Seeck's  edition  of 
Symmachus  (Berlin,  1883).  It  had  also  been  published  by 
Ambrose  (from  the  official  copy)  along  with  his  reply  (Migne's 
Patrologia  Latina,  vol.  XVI,  966-982).  In  the  text  of  Sym- 
machus it  bears  the  heading  "  D{omino)  N(ostro)  Theodosio," 
but  we  know  from  Ambrose  that  the  official  copy  was  formally 
addressed  to  Valentinian,  Theodosius,  and  Arcadius  (Seeck, 
pp.  xvi  f.).  For  the  date  of  the  death  of  Symmachus  see 
Seeck,  pp.  Ixxii  f. 

*  I,  643  ff. 

xii 


I 


INTRODUCTION 

Cathemerinon.  Portions,  indeed,  of  some  of  these 
have  been  included  in  the  Roman  Breviary  and,  in 
translations,  in  modem  hymnals,"  but  their  real 
nature  is  not  understood  if  we  think  of  them  as 
intended  for  congregational  singing.  They  are 
literary  odes  in  which  the  mythology  of  the  classical 
ode  is  replaced  by  stories  from  the  Scriptures.  It 
is  in  this  work  that  Prudentius  is  most  attractive. 
^  The  hymns  are,  as  Mr.  Raby  says,  his  happiest 
creation,  and  they  furnish  his  strongest  claim  to  be 
called  a  poet.  The  Psychomachia,  with  its  personi- 
fications of  Virtues  and  Vices  and  its  epic  account  of 
single  combats  between  their  leaders,  develops  a 
genuine  Roman  tendency  to  personify  abstract  ideas. 
It  was  the  most  popular  of  the  poet's  works  during 
the  middle  ages  and  the  ultimate  inspiration  of 
much  moral  allegory  and  of  much  religious  and 
ecclesiastical  art.*  In  the  Peristepkanon  Liber  his 
devotion  to  the  martyrs  combines  with  his  love  of 
telling  a  story.  As  one  might  expect,  Spanish 
martyrs  figure  largely  in  the  book.  It  has  for  us 
less  interest  as  poetrj'  than  as  historical  evidence  of 
the  cult  of  the  martyrs  and  the  place  it  held  in  the 
Christian  life  of  the  time.  An  excess  of  rhetoric 
makes  the  description  of  these  pieces  as  "  ballads  " 
less  appropriate  than  it  might  have  been.^" 

Apart  from  the  other  poems  stands  the  collection 

•  E.g.  "  Corde  natus  ex  Parentis  "  and  J.  M.  Neale's  version 
in  corresponding  metre,  "  Of  the  Father's  love  begotten  ", 
from  Cath.  ix. 

•  See  the  edition  by  M.  Lavarenne,  pp.  58  fF.  He  refers 
to  two  works  by  E.  Male,  L'art  rdigieux  au  XIII'  siide  en 
France  (Paris,  1910)  and  Uart  religieux  a  la  fin  du  moyen  dge 
(Paris,  1908). 

•  On  the  PerUtephanon  see  especially  Raby,  pp.  60-67. 

xiii 


INTRODUCTION 

of  four-line  stanzas  under  the  heading  of  Ditiochaeon 
or  (in  Bergman's  edition)  Tituli  Historiarum,  which 
are  inscriptions  intended  for,  or  suggested  by,  a  series 
of  pictures  or  mosaics  in  a  church,  representing  scenes 
from  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  in  equal  numbers. 
The  MSS.  are  confused  as  to  the  title,  and  some  have 
norie.  It  is  possible,  as  Bergman  thinks,  that  these 
quatrains  were  not  included  by  Prudentius  himself 
when  he  published  his  works  ;  they  are  not  contained 
in  the  two  oldest  MSS. 

THE   MANUSCRIPTS 

Prudentius  was  much  read  in  the  middle  ages,  and 
the  surviving  MSS.  number  more  than  three  hun- 
dred ;  a  much  smaller  number,  however,  contain  the 
complete  works.  Two  are  of  special  interest  on 
account  of  their  age,  one  having  been  written  in  the 
sixth  century,  the  other  in  the  seventh ;  some 
others  on  account  of  their  illustrations."  The  first 
systematic  survey  of  all  the  material  was  made  by 
J.  Bergman,  whose  edition  of  the  text  appeared  in 
1926.  For  this  he  selected  the  following  twelve 
MSS.*-  :— 

A  (6th  century)  in  the  National  Library  at  Paris 
(Lat.  8084).  It  now  contains  Cath.,  Apoth., 
Ham.,  Psych.,  Perist.  I-V,  142. 

C  (9th  century)  in  the  library  of  Corpus  Christi 
College,  Cambridge  (223). 

"  H.  Woodruff,  The  Illustrated  MSS.  of  Prudentius,  Cam- 
bridge, Mass.,  1930. 

'  Three  others,  which  contain  the  Psychomachia  alone  or 
almost  alone,  are  quoted  in  the  apparatus  criticus  to  that 
poem. 


I 


XIV 


1 


INTRODUCTION 

D  (10th   century)    in    the    Dean    and    Chapter 

hbrary  of  Durham  Cathedral  (B  4.  9). 
B  (7th  century)  in  the   Ambrosian   Library   at 

Milan  (D' 36  sup.).     This  MS.  is  available 

only  for  parts  of  the  poems ;    the  missing 

portions  have  been  supplied  by  a  hand  of 

the  9th  or  10th  century. 
F  (early  10th  century)  in  the  ^'atican  Library 

(Reg.  321). 
A'^  (10th  century)   in  the   National   Library    at 

Paris  (8305). 
P  (early  10th  century)  in  the  National  Library 

at  Paris  (8086).     It  lacks  Ham.  454  to  the 

end,  and  Psych.  1-811. 
E  (early  10th  century)  in  the  University  Library 

at  Ley  den  (Burm.  Q  3). 
M  (9th  centur)-^),  in  the  monastery  library  of 

Monte  Cassino  (374). 
0  (10th  century)  in  the  hbrary  of  Oriel  College, 

Oxford  (3).     It  lacks  Apoth.,  Ham.  and  Psych. 
S  (9th  or  early  10th  century)  in  the  monastery 

library  of  St.  Gall  (136). 
U  (late   9th   century)   in   the   City   Library   at 

Berne  (264).    It  now  has  considerable  gaps. 

These  MSS.  Bergman  divides  into  two  classes 
(Class  A  including  MSS.  A  to  N,  Class  B  the  others), 
mainly  on  the  grounds  that  they  differ  in  the  order 
of  the  poems  and  in  the  presence  or  absence  of 
certain  interpolated  lines ;  and  each  class  is  sub- 
divided into  two  families."     His  text  is  based  on  the 

•  Bergman's  methods  are  criticised  by  G.  Meyer  in  Philo- 
logus  87  (1932),  pp.  249  fF.  and  332  ff.,  F.  Klingner  in  Gnomon 
6  (1930),  pp.  39  S. 


INTRODUCTION 

MSS.  of  class  A,  particularly  on  the  two  oldest 
wherever  they  are  available.  Where  the  present 
edition  differs  from  his,  the  divergence  is  indicated. 
At  a  number  of  places,  of  which  the  most  striking  is 
Cath.  10,  9-16,  the  9th  and  10th  century  MSS.  differ 
radically  from  that  of  the  6th,  and  Bergman  adopts 
the  view  that  interpolation  has  occurred.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  has  been  argued  that  the  character 
of  the  later  text  at  some,  at  least,  of  these  places, 
is  more  consistent  with  the  view  that  it  represents 
a  revised  edition  from  the  hand  of  Prudentius  him- 
self. In  the  matter  of  orthography  Bergman  in 
general  follows  the  two  oldest  MSS.  Particularly  in 
the  case  of  Greek  words  I  have  reverted  to  the 
practice  of  his  predecessors,  printing,  for  instance, 
sophia,  not  sqfia,  and  Phlegetkon,  not  Flegeton.  I  have 
also  at  a  few  places  adopted  a  different  punctuation. 


SELECT  BIBLIOGRAPHY 
Editions 

Arevalo  (1788)  in  Migne's  Patrologia  Latina,  vols.  59, 

60  (Paris,  1847). 
Dressel,  Leipzig,  1860. 
Bergman,  in  the   Corpus  Scriptorum  Ecclesiasticorum 

Latinorum,  vol.  61,  Vienna,  1926. 
Lavarenne,    Psychomachie,    texte,    traduction,    com- 

mentaire,  avec  une  introduction  historique,  Paris, 

1933. 

General 

A.  Puech,  Prudence,  Etude  sur  la  poesie  latine  chritienru 
au  IV'  Steele,  Paris,  1888. 

xvi 


INTRODUCTION 

E.  K.  Randj  Prudentius  and  Christian  Humanismf 
Transactions  of  the  American  Philological  Asso- 
ciation, vol.  51,  Cleveland,  Ohio,  1920. 

T.  R.  Glover,  Life  and  Letters  in  the  Fourth  Century, 
Cambridge,  1901. 

F.  J.  E.  Raby,  Christian  Latin  Poetry,  Oxford,  1927. 
P.  de  LabrioUe,  Histoire  de  la  litter ature  latine  chretienne, 

3rd  edition,  Paris,  1947. 

G.  Boissier,  La  Fin  du  Paganisme,  Paris,  1891. 

S.  Dill,  Roman  Society  in  the  last  Century  of  the  Western 

Empire,  2nd  edition,  London,  1899. 
The  Cambridge  Medieval  History,  vol.  I,  eh.  IV. 


xvu 


THE    POEMS    OF    PRUDENTIUS 


VOL.    I. 


AURELII    PRUDENTII 
CLEMENTIS 

PRAEFATIO 

Per  quinquennia  iam  decern, 

ni  fallor,  fuimus  ;   septimus  insuper 

annum  cardo  rotat,  dum  fruimur  sole  volubili. 

instat  terminus,  et  diem 

vicinum  senio  iam  Deus  adplicat.  5 

^  quid  nos  utile  tanti  spatio  temporis  egimus  ? 

aetas  prima  crepantibus 

flevit  sub  ferulis.     mox  docuit  toga 
infectum  vitiis  falsa  loqui,  non  sine  crimine. 

turn  lasciva  protervitas  10 

et  luxus  petulans  (heu  pudet  ac  piget !) 
foedavit  iuvenem  nequitiae  sordibus  ac  luto. 

exim  iurgia  turbidos 

armarunt  aniraos,  et  male  pertinax 

vincendi  studium  subiacuit  casibus  asperis.       15 

bis  legum  moderamine 

frenos  nobilium  reximus  urbium, 

ius  civile  bonis  reddidimus,  terruimus  reos. 

tandem  militiae  gradu 

evectum  pietas  principis  extulit  201 

adsumptum  propius  stare  iubens  ordine  proximo. 


1 


THE  POEMS  OF  AURELIUS 
PRUDENTIUS  CLEMENS 

PREFACE 

Full  fifty  years,  if  I  err  not,  have  I  lived,  and 
beyond  that  it  is  the  seventh  time  that  the  heaven 
is  wheeling  the  year  and  I  have  the  benefit  of  the 
circling  sun.  The  end  is  close  upon  me,  and  by  now 
what  God  is  adding  to  my  days  is  on  the  border  of 
old  age.  What  profitable  thing  have  I  done  in  all 
this  length  of  time  ?  My  first  years  wept  under  the 
crack  of  the  rod ;  after  that  the  toga  corrupted  me 
and  taught  me  to  utter  sinful  falsehoods ;  «  then 
lewd  sauciness  and  wanton  indulgence,  to  my  shame 
and  sorrow  now,  marred  my  youth  -with  the  filthy 
dirt  of  wickedness.  Next  disputings  armed  my 
vehement  spirit,  and  a  perversely  stubborn  passion 
for  \actory  laid  itself  open  to  cruel  falls.  Twice  with 
the  law's  controlling  curb  I  governed  famed  cities, 
rendering  civil  justice  to  good  men  and  striking  ter- 
ror into  e\^l-doers.  Finally  His  Grace  the  Emperor 
advanced  me  in  his  service  and  raised  me  up,  attach- 
ing me  closer  to  him  and  bidding  me  stand  in  the 

•  I.e.  after  assuming  the  toga  virilis  he  attended  a  school 
of  rhetoric,  where  he  would  practise  the  art  of  making  the 
best  of  a  case. 


PRUDENTIUS 

haec  dum  vita  volans  agit, 

inrepsit  subito  canities  seni, 

oblitum  veteris  me  Saliae  consulis  arguens, 
sub  quo  prima  dies  mihi  25 

quam  multas  hiemes  volverit.  et  rosas 

pratis  post  glaciem  reddiderit,  nix  capitis  probat. 
numquid  talia  proderunt 

carnis  post  obitum  vel  bona  vel  mala  29 

cum  iam,  quidquid  id  est  quod  fueram,  mors 
aboleverit  ? 
dicendum  mihi :  "  quisquis  es, 

mundum,  quem  coluit,  mens  tua  perdidit. 

non  sunt  ilia  Dei,  quae  studuit,  cuius  habeberis." 
atqui  fine  sub  ultimo 

peccatrix  anima  stultitiam  ^xuat :  35 

saltem  voce  Deum  concelebret,  si  meritis  nequit. 
hymnis  continuet  dies, 

nee  nox  ulla  vacet  quin  Dominum  canat ; 

pugnet    contra    hereses,    catholicam    discutiat 
fidem, 
conculcet  sacra  gentium,  40 

labem,  Roma,  tuis  inferat  idolis, 

carmen  martyribus  devoveat,  laudet  apostolos. 
haec  dum  scribo  vel  eloquor, 

vinclis  o  utinam  corporis  emicem 

liber,  quo  tulerit  lingua  sono  mobilis  ultimo !      45 


I 


PREFACE 

nearest  rank.*  While  fleeting  life  thus  busied  itself, 
of  a  sudden  the  hoar  of  age  has  stolen  upon  me,  con- 
\'icting  me  of  having  forgotten  Salia's  consulship  of 
long  ago.  Under  him  my  time  began,  and  how 
many  winters  it  has  seen  roll  on,  how  often  seen  the 
roses  given  back  *o  the  meadows  after  the  frost,  the 
snow  on  my  head  proves.  Will  such  things,  good  or 
bad,  be  of  any  profit  after  my  flesh  is  dead,  when 
death  shall  have  wiped  out  all  that  I  was  ?  It  must 
be  said  to  me:  "  Whosoever  thou  art,  thy  soul  hath 
lost  the  world  it  cherished;  not  to  God,  who  will 
claim  thee  as  His,  belong  the  things  for  which  it  was 
zealous."  Yet  as  my  last  end  draws  near  let  my 
sinning  soul  put  off  her  folly.  With  voice  at  least 
let  her  honour  God,  if  with  good  deeds  she  cannot. 
With  hymns  let  her  link  the  days  together,  and  no 
night  pass  without  singing  of  her  Lord.  Let  her 
fight  against  heresies,  expound  the  Catholic  faith, 
trample  on  the  rites  of  the  heathen,  strike  down 
thy  idols,  O  Rome,  devote  song  to  the  martyrs,  and 
praise  the  apostles.  And  while  I  write  or  speak  of 
these  themes,  O  may  I  fly  forth  in  freedom  from  the 
bonds  of  the  body,  to  the  place  whither  my  busy 
tpngue's  last  word  shall  tend. 

•  See  Introduction,  p.  viii. 


t>- 


LIBER    CATHEMERINON 


Hymnus  ad  Galli  Cantum 

jj^  Ales  dieTpifntius 

\.       luceih  p^ropinquam  praecinit ; 
a'^  nos  excitalof  mentium 

iam  Christus  ad  vitam  vocat. 

"  auferte  "  clamat  "  lectulos  5 

aegros,  soporos,  desides ; 
castique,  recti  ac  sobrii 
vigilate,  iam  sum  proximus." 

post  solis  ortum  fulgidi 
serum  est  cubile  spernere,  10 

ni  parte  noctis  addita 
tempus  labori  adieceris. 

vox  ista  qua  strepunt  aves 
st  antes  sub  ipso  cuhnine, 
paulo  ante  quam  lux  emicet,  15 

nostri  figura  est  iudicis. 

tectos  tenebris  horridis 
stratisque  opertos  segnibus 
suadet  quietem  linquere 
iam  iamque  venturo  die,  20 

ut,  cum  coruscis  flatibus 
aurora  caelum  sparserit, 
omnes  labore  exercitos 
confirmet  ad  spem  luminis. 


THE    DAILY    ROUND 


A  Hymn  for  Cock-Crow 

The  bird  that  heralds  day  forewarns  that  dawn  is 
at  hand;  now  Christ,  the  awakener  of  our  souk, 
calls  lis  to  life.  "  Away,"  He  cries,  "  with  beds  that 
belong  to  sickness,  sleep,  and  sloth.  Be  pure  and 
upright  and  sober  and  awake,  for  now  I  am  very  near. 
It  is  late  to  spurn  the  couch  after  the  shining  sun 
is  up,  unless  by  adding  a  part  of  the  night  thou  hast 
given  more  hours  to  toil.  The  loud  chirping  of  the 
birds  perched  under  the  very  roof,  a  little  while 
before  the  light  breaks  forth,  is  a  symbol  of  our 
Judge.  As  we  lie  closed  in  by  foul  darkness,  buried 
under  the  blankets  of  sloth,  He  bids  us  leave  repose 
behind,  for  day  is  on  the  point  of  coming ;  that  when 
dawn  besprinkles  the  sky  with  her  shimmering 
breath  she  may  make  us  all,  who  were  spent  \vith 
toil,  strong  to   embrace  the  hope   of  light.     This 

7 


PRUDENTIUS 

hie  somnus  ad  tempus  datus  25 

est  forma  mortis  perpetis : 
peccata,  ceu  nox  horrida, 
cogunt  iacere  ac  stertere. 

sed  vox  ab  alto  culmine 
Christi  docentis  praemonet  30 

adesse  iam  lucem  prope, 
ne  mens  sopori  serviat, 

ne  somnus  usque  ad  terminos 
vitae  socordis  opprimat 
pectus  sepultum  crimine  35 

et  lucis  oblitum  suae. 

ferunt  vagantes  daemonas 
laetos  tenebris  noctium 
gallo  canente  exterritos 
sparsim  timere  et  cedere.  40 

invisa  nam  vicinitas 
lucis,  salutis,  numinis, 
rupto  tenebrarum  situ 
noctis  fugat  satellites. 

hoc  esse  signum  praescii  45 

norunt  repromissae  spei, 
qua  nos  soporis  liberi 
speramus  adventum  Dei. 

quae  vis  sit  huius  alitis, 
Salvator  ostendit  Petro,  50 

ter  antequam  gallus  canat 
sese  negandum  praedicans. 

fit  namque  peccatum  prius 
quam  praeco  lucis  proximae 
inlustret  humanum  genus  55 

finemque  peccandi  ferat. 

flevit  negator  denique 
ex  ore  prolapsum  nefas, 


i 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,   I 

sleep  that  is  given  us  for  a  time  is  an  image  of  ever- 
lasting death.  Our  sins,  like  foul  night,  make  us 
lie  jnoring ;  but  the  voice  of  Christ  from  the  height 
of  heaven  teaches  and  forewarns  us  that  daylight  is 
near,  lest  our  soul  be  in  bondage  to  slumber,  and  to 
the  very  end  of  a  slothful  life  sleep  lie  hea\'y  on  a 
heart  that  is  buried  in  sin  and  has  forgotten  its 
natural  light.  They  say  that  e\il  spirits  which  roam 
happily  in  the  darkness  of  night  are  terriiied  when  the 
cock  crows,  and  scatter  and  flee  in  fear ;  for  the  hated 
approach  of  light,  salvation,  Godhead,  bursts  through 
the  foul  darkness  and  routs  the  ministers  of  night. 
They  have  foreknowledge  that  this  is  a  sign  of  our 
promised  hope,  whereby  being  freed  from  slumber 
we  hope  for  the  coming  of  God.  WTiat  this  bird 
signifies  the  Saviour  showed  to  Peter,  when  He 
declared  that  ere  the  cock  crew  He  should  be  thrice 
denied.  For  sin  is  committed  before  the  herald  of 
coming  day  sheds  light  on  the  race  of  men  and  brings 
an  end  of  sinning.  So  he  who  denied  Christ  wept 
for  the  wickedness  that  fell  from  his  lips  while  his 

.9 
b2 


PRUDENTIUS 

cum  mens  inaneret  innocens 
animusque  servaret  fidem. 

nee  tale  quidquam  postea 
linguae  locutus  lubrico  est, 
cantuque  galli  cognito 
peccare  iustus  destitit. 

inde  est  quod  omnes  credimus 
illo  quietis  tempore 
quo  gallus  exultans  canit 
Christum  redisse  ex  inferis. 

tunc  mortis  oppressus  vigor, 
tunc  lex  subacta  est  Tartari, 
tunc  vis  diei  fortior 
noctem  coegit  cedere. 

iam  iam  quiescant  inproba, 
iam  culpa  furva  obdormiat, 
iam  noxa  letalis  suum 
perpessa  somnum  marceat. 

vigil  vicissim  spiritus 
quodcumque  restat  temporis, 
dum  meta  noctis  clauditur, 
stans  ac  laborans  excubet. 

lesum  ciamus  vocibus 
flentes,  precantes,  sobrii ; 
intenta  supplicatio 
dorraire  cor  mundum  vetat. 

sat  convolutis  artubus 
sensum  profunda  oblivio 
pressit,  gravavit,  obruit 
vanis  vagantem  somniis. 

sunt  nempe  falsa  et  frivola 
quae  mundiali  gloria, 
ceu  dormientes,  egimus : 
vigilemus,  hie  est  Veritas. 


lO 


THE   DAILY   ROUND,   I 

mind  remained  upright  and  his  heart  kept  faith; 
nor  ever  after  did  he  speak  any  such  word  by  slip 
of  tongue,  and  when  he  heard  the  cock  crow  he  was 
made  a  just  man  and  ceased  to  sin.  Hence  it  is 
that  we  all  believe  it  was  at  this  hour  of  rest,  wFen 
the  cock  crows  in  his  pride,  that  Christ  returned 
firom  the  dead.  Then  was  the  strength  of  death 
crushed,  then  was  the  law  of  hell  subdued,  then  did 
the  stronger  potency  of  day  force  night  to  flee. 
Now,  now  let  wickedness  sink  to  rest,  now  let  dark 
sin  fall  asleep,  now  let  deadly  guilt  wither  away,  the 
victim  of  its  o^\ti  slumber ;  and  let  the  spirit  in  its 
turn  awake,  and  for  the  time  that  remains,  while  the 
night's  course  is  drawing  to  a  close,  stand  and  be 
active  at  its  post.  Let  us  call  on  Jesus  -with  our 
voices,  in  tears  and  prayers  and  soberness ;  earnest 
suppUcation  keeps  the  pure  heart  from  slumbering. 
Long  enough  has  deep  forget  fulness,  as  we  lay  curled 
up,  pressed  hea\ily  on  our  sense  and  buried  it  while 
it  wandered  in  baseless  dreams.  Surely  false  and 
;  worthless  are  the  things  we  have  done  because  of 
•  worldly  glory,  as  though  we  did  them  in  sleep.  Let 
u';  awake !     Reality  is  here.     Gold,  pleasure,  joy, 

\l 


PRUDENTIUS 

aurum,  voluptas,  gaudium, 
opes,  honores,  prospera, 
quaecumque  nos  inflant  mala, 
fit  mane,  nil  sunt  omnia. 

tu,  Christe,  somnum  dissice, 
tu  rumpe  noctis  vincula, 
tu  solve  peccatum  vetus, 
novumque  lumen  ingere. 


II 

Hymnus  Matutinus 

..i^y^^''^^'^ '^      Nox  et  tenebrae  et  nubila, 
^^^  confusa  mundi  et  turbida, 

lux  intrat,  albescit  polus,     ^  ' 
Christus  venit,  discedite. 
caligo  terrae  scinditur 
percuss  a  solis  spiculo, 
rebusque  iam  color  redit 
vultu  nitentis  sideris. 

sic  nostra  mox  obscuritas 
fraudisque  pectus  conscium 
ruptis  retectum  nubibus 
regnante  pallescet  Deo. 

tunc  non  licebit  claudere 
quod  quisque  fuscum  cogitat, 
sed  mane  clarescent  novo 
secreta  mentis  prodita. 

fur  ante  lucem  squalido 
inpune  peccat  tempore, 
sed  lux  dolis  contraria 
latere  furtum  non  sinit. 

12 


95 


THE   DAILY   ROUND,   II 

riches,  honour,  success,  all  the  e\il  things  that  puff 
us  up, — comes  morning,  all  are  naught.  Do  Thou, 
O  Christ,  scatter  our  slumbers.  Do  Thou  burst  the 
bonds  of  night.  Do  Thou  undo  our  long-established 
sin,  and  pour  in  upon  us  the  li^ht  of  the  new  day. 


II 

A  Morning  Hymn 

Night  and  darkness  and  clouds,  all  the  world's 
perplexed  disorder,  get  ye  gone !  The  dawn  comes 
in,  the  sky  is  Ughtening,  Christ  is  coming.  Earth's 
blackness  is  split  asunder  by  the  stroke  of  the  sun's 
dart,  and  now  the  world  resumes  its  colour  under  the 
glance  of  his  shining  orb.  So  presently  will  the 
darkness  in  us,  the  heart  that  knows  its  own  sin,  be 
cleared  with  the  breaking  of  the  clouds  and  grow 
light  imder  the  rule  of  God.  Then  we  shall  not  be 
free  to  hide  our  dark  thoughts,  but  in  the  newness 
of  morning  the  secrets  of  the  heart  will  be  revealed 
and  made  manifest.  It  is  in  the  murky  time  before 
the  light  comes,  that  the  thief  offends  unpunished ; 
but  Ught,  the  foe  of  guile,  suffers  not  theft  to  be 

13 


PRUDENTIUS 

versuta  fraus  et  callida 
amat  tenebris  obtegi, 
aptamque  noctem  turpibus 
adulter  occultus  fovet. 

sol,  ecce,  surgit  igneus  : 
piget,  pudescit,  paenitet, 
hec  teste  quisquam  lumine 
peceare  constanter  potest, 

quis  mane  sumptis  nequiter 
non  erubescit  poculis, 
cum  fit  libido  temperans, 
castumque  nugator  sapit  ? 

nunc,  nunc  severum  vivitur, 
nunc  nemo  temptat  ludicrum, 
inepta  nunc  omnes  sua 
vultu  colorant  serio. 

haec  hora  cunctis  utilis 
qua  quisque  quod  studet  gerat, 
(miles,  togatus,  navita, 
T  opifex,  arator,  institor. 

ilium  forensis  gloria, 
hunc  triste  raptat  classicum. 
mercatorTiinc  ac  rusticus 
avara  suspirant  lucra. 

at  nos  lucelli  ac  faenoris 
fandique  prorsus  nescii, 
nee  arte  fortes  bellica, 
te,  Christe,  solum  novimus. 

te  mente  pura  et  simplici, 
te  voce,  te  cantu  pio 
rogare  curvato  genu 
flendo  et  canendo  discimus. 

his  nos  lucramur  quaestibus, 
hac  arte  tantum  vivimus, 


(P^-^ri^^  ' 


14 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,   II 

hidden.  Sly,  cunning  dishonesty  loves  to  shroud 
itself  in  darkness,  and  the  stealthy  paramour  cherishes 
the  night  because  it  is  fitted  for  base  deeds.  But 
lo  I  the  fiery  sun  arises,  and  there  come  regret  and 
shame  and  sorrow,  and  no  man  can  sin  coolly  under 
the  eye  of  light.  WTio  does  not  blush  in  the  morning 
after  a  bout  of  the  wine-cup?  For  then  desire 
moderates  and  the  ne'er-do-well  savours  purity. 
Now,  now  it  is  that  life  is  serious,  now  none  essays 
aught  sportive,  now  all  men  put  a  grave  face  on  their 
follies.  This  is  the  hour  that  profits  all  for  carrying 
on  their  several  businesses,  be  it  soldier  or  citizen, 
sailor,  workman,  husbandman  or  huckster.  One  is 
carried  away  by  desire  for  fame  in  the  courts,  another 
by  the  grim  war-trump;  and  here  are  the  trader 
and  the  countrj'man  sighing  for  their  greedy  gains. 
But  we,  who  know  nought  of  paltry  gain  or  usury  or 
eloquence,  nor  show  our  prowess  in  the  art  of  war, 
know  Thee,  O  Christ,  alone.  Of  Thee  A\ith  pure  and 
single  heart,  with  devout  voice  and  song,  on  bended 
knee  with  tears  and  singing  we  learn  to  make  request. 
This  is  the  trafficking  whereby  we  grow  rich,  this 

15 


PRUDENTIUS 

haec  inchoamus  munera,  55 

cum  sol  resurgens  emicat. 

intende  nostris  sensibus 
vitamque  totam  dispice ; 
sunt  multa  fucis  inlita, 
quae  luce  purgentur  tua.  60 

durare  nos  tales  iube, 
quales,  remotis  sordibus, 
nitere  pridem  iusseras 
lordane  tinctos  flumine. 

quodcumque  nox  mundi  dehinc  65 

infecit  atris  nubibus, 
tu,  rex,  Eoi  sideris 
vultu  sereno  inlumina, 

tu,  sancte,  qui  taetram  picem 
candore  tinguis  lacteo,  70 

ebenoque  crystallum  facis, 
delicta  tergens  ^  livida. 

sub  nocte  lacob  caerula, 
luctator  audax  angeli, 

eo  usque  dum  lux  surgeret,  75 

sudavit  inpar  proelium ; 

sed  cum  iubar  claresceret, 
lapsante  claudus  poplite 
femurque  victus  debile, 
culpae  vigorem  perdidit,  80 

nutabat  inguen  saucium, 
quae  corporis  pars  vilior  I 

longeque  sub  cordis  loco 
diram  fovet  libidinem. 

hae  nos  docent  imagines  85 

hominem  tenebris  obsitum, 
si  forte  non  cedat  Deo, 
vires  rebelles  perdere. 


i<5 


THE   DAILY  ROUND,   II 

the  employment  by  which  alone  we  hve,  these  the 
duties  we  enter  upon  when  the  sun  breaks  forth  at 
its  rising  again.  Look  intoourthoughts^^^nd 
examine  our  whole  Ufe ;  many  stains  are  there  to  be 
cleansed  by  Thy  light.  Bid  us  so  continue  as  Thou 
didst  aforetime  bid  us  shine  when  we  were  dipped  in 
Jordan's  stream  and  our  uncleanness  was  done  away. 
WTiatsoever  the  night  of  the  world  since  then  has 
darkened  with  its  black  clouds  do  Thou,  O  King, 
illumine  ^vith  the  bright  face  of  the  morning  star. 
Thou,  O  Holy  One,  who  dost  give  to  foul  pitch  the 
whiteness  of  milk  and  make  crystal  of  ebony  and  dost 
wipe  away  the  stains  of  sin.  It  was  under  the  dusk 
of  night  that  Jacob,  wrestling  boldly  with  the  angel, 
toiled  hard  in  unequal  fight  until  the  light  arose. 
But  when  the  beam  shone  forth  his  ham  gave  way 
and  he  was  lamed,  and  being  overcome  in  the  in- 
firmity of  his  thigh  he  lost  the  strength  to  sin.  His 
loins  were  wounded  and  enfeebled,  that  baser  part 
of  the  body,  far  below  the  heart,  which  nurtures 
fearful  lust.  These  figures  teach  us  that  man,  sunk 
in  darkness,  if  he  peld  not  to  God,  loses  the  strength 

^  Some  MSS.  of  Bergman's  class  B  have  teige. 

17 


PRUDENTIUS 

erit  tamen  beatior, 
intemperans  membrum  cui  90 

luctando  claudum  et  tabidum 
dies  oborta  invenerit. 

tandem  facessat  caecitas, 
quae  nosmet  in  praeceps  diu 
lapses  sinistris  gressibus  95 

errore  traxit  devio. 

haec  lux  serenum  conferat 
purosque  nos  praestet  sibi ; 
nihil  loquamur  subdolum, 
volvamus  obscurum  nihil.  100 

sic  tota  decurrat  dies, 
ne  lingua  mendax,  ne  manus 
oculive  peccent  lubrici, 
ne  noxa  corpus  inquinet. 

speculator  adstat  desuper,  105 

qui  nos  diebus  omnibus 
actusque  nostros  prospicit 
a  luce  prima  in  vesperum. 

hie  testis,  hie  est  arbiter, 
hie  intuetur  quidquid  est  110 

humana  quod  mens  concipit ; 
hunc  nemo  fallit  iudicem. 

Ill 

Hymnus  ante  Cibum 

O  CRUCiFER  bone,  lucisator, 
omniparens  pie,  Verbigena, 
edite  corpore  virgineo, 
sed  prius  in  genitore  potens, 
astra,  solum,  mare  quam  fierent,  5 


l8 


THE   DAILY  ROUND,  III 

to  resume  the  fight ;  yet  he  •will  be  more  blessed 
in  whom  the  day,  when  it  appears,  finds  the  unruly 
body  lamed  and  wasted  with  the  struggle.  At  last 
let  the  blindness  be  gone,  which  has  long  caused  us 
to  fall  into  danger  and  made  us  wander  from  the 
path  with  misguided  steps.  May  this  hght  give  us 
a  clear  day  and  make  us  pure  to  meet  it ;  let  us  speak 
no  guile  and  think  no  dark  thought.  So  may  the 
whole  day  pass  that  neither  lying  tongue,  nor  hands, 
nor  straying  eyes  commit  sin,  nor  any  guilt  stain  our 
body.  There  is  One  that  stands  by  watching  from 
above,  who  each  day  \iews  us  and  our  doings  from 
dawn  of  light  till  evening.  He  is  witness,  He  is 
judge ;  He  looks  on  every  thought  the  mind  of  man 
conceives,  and  this  judge  none  can  dupe. 


Ill 
A  Hymn  Before  Meat 

O  KIND  bearer  of  the  cross,  spreader  of  light,  loving 
source  of  all,  bom  of  the  Word,  Thou  that  wert  the 
fruit  of  a  xirgin's  body,  yet  mighty  in  the  Father  ere 
stars  and  earth  and  sea  were  made,  hither,  I  pray, 

19 


PRUDENTIUS 

hue  nitido,  precor,  intuitu 
flecte  salutiferam  faciem 
fronte  serenus  et  irradia, 
nominis  ut  sub  honore  tui 
has  epulas  liceat  capere.  10 

te  sine  dulce  nihil,  Domine, 
nee  iuvat  ore  quid  adpetere, 
pocula  ni  prius  atque  cibos, 
Christe,  tuus  favor  inbuerit, 
omnia  sanctifieante  fide.  15 

fercula  nostra  Deum  sapiant, 
Christus  et  influat  in  pateras ; 
seria,  ludicra,  verba,  iocos,    . 
denique  quod  sumus  aut  agimus, 
trina  superne  regat  pietas,  20 

hie  mihi  nulla  rosae  spolia, 
nullus  aromate  fragrat  ^  odor, 
sed  liquor  influit  ambrosius 
nectareamque  fidem  redolet 
fusus  ab  usque  Patris  gremio.  25 

sperne,  Camena,  leves  hederas, 
cingere  tempora  quis  solita  es, 
sertaque  mystica  dactylico 
texere  docta  liga  strophio, 
laude  Dei  redimita  comas.  30 

quod  generosa  potest  anima, 
lucis  et  aetheris  indigena, 
solvere  dignius  obsequium, 
quam  data  munera  si  recinat 
artificem  modulata  suum  ?  35 

ipse  homini  quia  cuncta  dedit, 
quae  capimus  dominante  manu ; 
quae  polus  aut  humus  aut  pelagus 
acre,  gurgite,  rure  creant, 


i 


20 


THE   DAILY  ROUND,   III 

with  bright  look  turn  Thy  sa\-ing  face,  and  with 
gladsome  countenance  shine  upon  us,  that  we  may 
take  this  meal  in  honour  of  Thy  name.  Without 
Thee,  Lord,  nought  is  sweet,  and  appetite  finds  no 
relish  unless  Thy  grace,  O  Christ,  first  flavour  cups 
and  food,  while  faith  sanctifies  all.  May  our  dishes 
savour  of  God,  and  Christ  be  poured  into  our  bowls ; 
may  all  things  grave  or  Hght,  our  talk,  our  merri- 
ment, all  that  we  are  or  do,  be  governed  by  the  three- 
fold love  from  on  high.  Here  no  plunder  of  the  rose, 
no  scent  of  spice  smells  in  my  nostrils,  but  an  ambrosial 
liquor  flows  into  me,  with  the  aroma  of  faith  sweet 
as  nectar,  and  pouring  from  the  Father's  breast. 
Put  away,  my  Muse,  the  paltry  i\'y-leaves  wherewith 
thou  hast  been  wont  to  encircle  thy  brows ;  learn  to 
weave  mystic  garlands  and  tie  them  with  a  band  of 
dactyls,"  and  wear  thy  hair  wreathed  with  the  praise 
of  God.  What  worthier  service  can  the  high-bom 
soul,  native  of  light  and  heaven,  pay,  than  to  chant 
the  gifts  she  has  received,  singing  of  her  Creator? 
For  He  has  given  all  things  to  man,  and  we  take  them 
with  a  hand  that  bears  dominion ;  all  that  sky  or 
earth  or  sea  produces  in  air  or  flood  or  field,  all  this 

•  The  phrase  is  suited  to  the  metre  of  this  hymn,  which  is 
the  dactylic  tetrameter  (catalectic). 

^  Here  and  elsewhere  the  spelling  of  the  MSS.  varies  between 
fragl-  and  flagr-. 

21 


PRUDENTIUS 

haec  mihi  subdidit,  et  sibi  me.  40 

callidus  inlaqueat  volucres 
aut  pedicis  dolus  aut  maculis, 
inlita  glutine  corticeo 
\imina  plumigeram  seriem 
inpediunt  et  abire  vetant.  45 

ecce  per  aequora  fluctivagos 
texta  greges  sinuosa  trahunt ; 
piscis  item  sequitur  calamum 
raptus  acumine  vulnifico, 
credula  saucius  ora  cibo.  50 

fundit  opes  ager  ingenuas, 
dives  aristiferae  segetis, 
hie  ubi  vitea  pampineo 
bracchia  palmite  luxuriant, 
pacis  alumna  ubi  baca  viret.  55 

haec  opulentia  Christicolis 
servit  et  omnia  subpeditat. 
absit  enim  procul  ilia  fames, 
caedibus  ut  pecudum  libeat 
sanguineas  lacerare  dapes.  60 

sint  fera  gentibus  indomitis 
prandia  de  nece  quadrupedum ; 
nos  holeris  coma,  nos  siliqua 
feta  legumine  multimodo 
paverit  innocuis  epulis.  65 

spumea  mulctra  gerunt  niveos 
ubere  de  gemino  latices, 
perque  coagula  densa  liquor 
in  solidum  coit,  et  fragili 
lac  tenerum  premitur  calatho.  70 

mella  recens  mihi  Cecropia 
nectare  sudat  olente  favus  ; 
haec  opifex  apis  aerio 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,   III 

has  He  put  under  me,  and  me  under  Himself.  Cun- 
ning craft  snares  birds  in  gins  or  meshes,  or  twigs 
smeared  with  the  glue  that  comes  from  bark  catch 
a  Hne  of  the  feathered  creatures  and  will  not  let  them 
go.  See  how  through  the  waters  the  encircling 
nets  draw  the  shoals  that  roam  the  waves ;  and  fish 
fall  to  the  rod  too,  caught  by  the  sharp,  piercing 
hook,  their  too  trustful  mouth  wounded  by  the  bait. 
The  land  pours  forth  its  native  wealth  in  all  the  riches 
of  its  corn-crop,  while  here  too  the  vine's  branches 
luxuriate  with  leafy  shoots  and  the  berry  that  is  the 
nursling  of  peace "  flourishes.  All  this  abundance 
is  in  the  service  of  Christ's  followers  and  supplies 
their  every  need.  Far  from  us  be  the  appetite  that 
would  choose  to  slay  cattle  and  hack  their  flesh  to 
make  a  bloody  feast.  Let  tribes  uncivilised  have 
their  savage  meals  from  the  slaughter  of  four-footed 
beasts :  as  for  us,  the  leaves  of  greens,  the  pod  that 
swells  with  beans  of  diverse  sorts,  will  feed  us  with 
an  innocent  banquet.  Foaming  pails  bear  the  snow- 
white  milk  drawn  from  a  pair  of  teats ;  and  by  means 
of  thickening  rennet  the  hquor  solidifies,  and  the 
soft  curd  is  pressed  in  a  frail  wicker  basket.  The 
fresh  comb  exudes  for  me  Cecropian  '  honey  with 
the  scent  of  nectar ;  the  worker  bee,  that  knows  no 

.    "  I.e.  the  olive. 

*  I.e.  Athenian,   a   literary  epithet,   Attic    honey  being 
famous. 

23 


PRUDENTIUS 

rore  liquat  tenuique  thymo, 

nexilis  inscia  conubii.  75 

hinc  quoque  pomiferi  nemoris 
munera  mitia  proveniunt ; 
arbor  onus  tremefacta  suum 
'deciduo  gravis  imbre  pluit 
puniceosque  iacit  cumulos.  80 

quae  veterum  tuba  quaeve  lyra 
flatibus  inclyta  vel  fidibus 
divitis  omnipotentis  opus, 
quaeque  fruenda  patent  homini, 
laudibus  aequiperare  queat  ?  85 

te,  Pater  optime,  mane  novo, 
solis  et  orbita  cum  media  est, 
te  quoque  luce  sub  occidua, 
sumere  cum  monet  hora  cibum, 
nostra,  Deus,  canet  harmonia.  90 

quod  calet  halitus  interior, 
corde  quod  abdita  vena  tremit, 
pulsat  et  incita  quod  resonam 
lingua  sub  ore  latens  caveam, 
laus  superi  Patris  esto  mihi.  95 

nos  igitur  tua,  sancte,  manus 
caespite  conposuit  madido, 
effigiem  meditata  suam, 
utque  foret  rata  materies 
flavit  et  indidit  ore  animam.^  100 

tunc  per  amoena  virecta  iubet 
frondicomis  habitare  locis, 
ver  ubi  perpetuum  redolet 
prataque  multicolora  latex 
quadrifluo  celer  amne  rigat.  105 

"  haec  tibi  nunc  famulentur  "  ait ; 
"  usibus  omnia  dedo  tuis, 


24 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,   III 

union  in  wedlock,  makes  this  clear  fluid  from  the 
dew  of  the  air  and  the  slender  thyme.  From  the 
earth  too  come  the  ripe  gifts  of  the  orchard.  The 
hea\y  tree  is  shaken  and  rains  down  its  load  in  a 
falling  shower,  casting  its  red  fruits  in  heaps  upon 
the  ground.  What  trumpet  or  lyre  of  old,  with 
famous  music  of  vnnd  or  strings,  could  fitly  praise 
the  work  of  Him  who  is  rich  and  almighty,  and  all 
that  is  provided  for  man's  enjoyment?  Of  Thee, 
best  Father,  when  the  mom  is  new,  and  when  the 
sun's  course  is  half-way  run,  of  Thee  too  under  the 
sinking  Ught,  when  the  time  of  day  admonishes  us 
to  take  food,  of  Thee,  O  God,  shall  be  our  song. 
For  the  breath  that  is  warm  within  me,  for  the  blood 
that  pulses  imseen  in  my  heart,  for  the  tongue 
ensconced  within  my  mouth  and  beating  nimbly  on 
its  sounding  chamber,  let  me  praise  the  Father  on 
high.  Thy  hand,  then,  it  was,  O  Holy  One,  that 
made  us  from  the  moist  earth.  After  His  own  image 
He  made  us,  and  that  our  substance  might  be  per- 
fected, breathed  with  His  mouth  into  us  the  breath 
of  life.  Then  He  bade  man  dwell  in  a  leafy  place, 
ranging  over  pleasant  lawns,  where  the  scent  of 
spring  was  unending  and  a  swift  stream  in  fourfold 
channel  <*  watered  the  many-coloured  meads.  "  Be 
I  all  this  now  in  thy  service,"  He  said.  "  All  I  give 
iover  to  thee  for  thy  enjoyment.     But  I  bid  thee 

•  Cf.  Genesis  ii,  10. 

i 

I  ^  ore  animam  dedit  ex  proprio  A. 

^5 


PRUDENTIUS 

sed  tamen  aspera  mortifero 

stipite  carpere  poma  veto, 

qui  medio  viret  in  nemore."  110 

hie  draco  perfidus  indocile 
virginis  inlicit  ingenium, 
ut  socium  malesuada  virum 
mandere  cogeret  ex  vetitis, 
ipsa  pari  peritura  modo.  115 

corpora  mutua  (nosse  nefas) 
post  epulas  inoperta  vident, 
lubricus  error  et  erubuit : 
tegmina  suta  parant  foliis, 
dedecus  ut  pudor  occuleret.  120 

conscia  culpa  Deum  pavitans 
sede  pia  procul  exigitur. 
innuba  femina  quae  fuerat, 
coniugis  excipit  imperium, 
foedera  tristia  iussa  pati.  125 

auctor  et  ipse  doli  coluber 
plectitur  inprobus,  ut  mulier 
colla  trilinguia  calce  terat ; 
sic  coluber  muliebre  solum  J 

suspicit  atque  virum  mulier.  130 

his  ducibus  vitiosa  dehinc 
posteritas  ruit  in  facinus, 
dumque  rudes  imitatur  avos, 
fasque  nefasque  simul  glomerans, 
inpia  crimina  morte  luit.  135 

ecce  venit  nova  progenies, 
aethere  proditus  alter  homo, 
non  luteus  velut  ille  prius, 
sed  Deus  ipse  gerens  hominem, 
corporeisque  carens  vitiis.  140 

fit  caro  vivida  Sermo  Patris, 


2& 


THE   DAILY  ROUND,   III 

not  pluck  the  harsh  fruit  from  the  deadly  tree  that 

grows  in  the  midst  of  the  wood."     Then  the  treacher- 

1  ous  serpent  beguiled  the  simple  heart  of  the  maid 

\  to  seduce  her  male  partner  and  make  him  eat  of  the 

I  forbidden  fruit,  being  herself  doomed  to  ruin    in 

1  like  manner.     Each  other's  body  (unlawful  know- 

I  ledge),  after  eating,  they  saw  uncovered,  and  their 

1  sinful   lapse   brought   the   blush   to   their   cheeks ; 

I  coverings  they  made  by  stitching  leaves,  that  modesty 

j  might  veil  their  shame.     Trembling  before  God  for 

!  the  guilt  they  felt,  they  were  driven  out  from  the 

abode  of  innocence,  and  the  woman,  till  then  un- 

wedded,    came    under    a    husband's    rule    and   was 

commanded  to  submit  to  stern  laws.     The  wicked 

serpent,  too,  that  devised  the  guile,  was  condemned 

to    have    its    three-tongued    head   bruised    by    the 

woman's  heel ;  so  the  serpent  was  under  the  woman's 

foot,  as  the  woman  under  the  man.     Following  their 

lead,  succeeding  generations  are  corrupted  and  rush 

into     sin,    and     through    copying    their    primitive 

ancestors,  liunping  right   and  wrong  together,  pay 

with    death    for    their    rebelUous    deeds.      But    lo ! 

there  comes  a  new  scion,  a  Second  Man  sent  forth 

from  heaven,  not  of  clay  as  was  that  one  before, 

but    God    Himself    putting    on    man  without    the 

body's  faults.     The  Word  of  the  Father  becomes 


PRUDENTIU^ 

numine  quam  rutilante  gravis 

non  thalamo,  neque  iure  tori, 

nee  genialibus  inlecebris 

intemerata  puella  parit.  145 

hoc  odium  vetus  illud  erat, 
hoe  erat  aspidis  atque  hominis 
digladiabile  discidium, 
quod  modo  cernua  femineis 
vipera  proteritur  pedibus.  150 

edere  namque  Deum  merita 
omnia  virgo  venena  domat ; 
tractibus  anguis  inexplicitis 
virus  inerme  piger  revomit, 
gramine  concolor  in  viridi.  155 

quae  feritas  modo  non  trepidat 
territa  de  grege  candidulo  ? 
inpavidas  lupus  inter  oves 
tristis  obambulat  et  rabidum 
sanguinis  inmemor  os  cohibet.  160 

agnus  enim  vice  mirifica 
ecce  leonibus  imperitat, 
exagitansque  truces  aquilas 
per  vaga  nubila  perque  Notos 
sidere  lapsa  columba  fugat.  1651 

tu  mihi,  Christe,  columba  potens, 
sanguine  pasta  cui  cedit  avis, 
tu  niveus  per  ovile  tuum 
agnus  hiare  lupum  prohibes, 
subiuga  tigridis  ora  premens.  170 

da,  locuples  Deus,  hoc  famulis 
rite  precantibus,  ut  tenui 
membra  cibo  recreata  levent, 
neu  piger  inmodicis  dapibus 
viscera  tenta  gravet  stomachus.  17| 


a8 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,   III 

li\-ing  flesh ;  pregnant  by  the  shining  Godhead,  not 
by  wedlock  nor  espousal  nor  allurement  of  marriage, 
a  maid  inviolate  bears  it.  This  was  the  meaning  of 
that  age-long  hate,  that  quarrel  to  the  death  between 
snake  and  man,  that  now  the  serpent  on  his  belly  is 
crushed  by  a  woman's  feet.  For  the  virgin  who 
proved  worthy  to  give  birth  to  God  subdues  all  its 
poisons,  and  the  snake,  its  length  twisted  in  coils 
it  cannot  unravel,  feebly  spews  its  harmless  venom 
on  the  green  grass  whose  hue  it  matches.  What 
void  beast  does  not  tremble  now  in  fear  of  the  white- 
clad  flock?  The  dire  wolf  prowls  amid  fearless 
sheep,  and  with  no  thought  of  blood  keeps  close  his 
ravening  mouth.  For  see — by  a  wondrous  change 
the  lamb  commands  the  Uons,  and  the  dove  gliding 
from  the  sky  drives  the  fierce  eagles  in  flight  through 
the  unresting  clouds  and  the  winds.  Thou  for  me, 
;0  Christ,  art  the  puissant  dove  to  which  the  blood- 
fed  bird  gives  place.  Thou  art  the  snow-white  lamb 
that  dost  prevent  the  wolf  from  opening  his  jaws  in 
all  Thy  fold  and  dost  subdue  and  close  the  tiger's 
mouth.  Grant,  mighty  God,  to  Thy  sen'ants'  devout 
prayers  that  with  a  frugal  meal  they  may  refresh 
and  sustain  their  bodies,  and  that  the  stomach  be 
aot  hea\'y  with  immoderate  feasting  and  strain  and 
weigh  upon  the  inner  parts.    Far  from  us  be  the 

39 


PRUDENTIUS 

haustus  amarus  abesto  procul, 
ne  libeat  tetigisse  manu 
exitiale  quid  aut  vetitum ; 
gustus  et  ipse  modum  teneat, 
sospitet  ut  iecur  incolume.  180 

sit  satis  anguibus  horrificis 
liba  quod  inpia  corporibus 
a !   miseram  peperere  necem ; 
sufficiat  semel  ob  facinus 
plasma  Dei  potuisse  mori.  185 

oris  opus,  vigor  igneolus 
non  moritur,  quia  flante  Deo 
conpositus  superoque  fluens 
de  solio  patris  artificis 
vim  liquidae  rationis  habet. 

viscera  mortua  quin  etiam 
post  obitum  reparare  datur, 
eque  suis  iterum  tumulis 
prisca  renascitur  effigies, 
pulvereo  coeunte  situ. 

credo  equidem,  neque  vana  fides, 
corpora  vivere  more  animae ; 
nam  modo  corporeum  memini 
de  Phlegethonte  gradu  facili 
ad  superos  remeasse  Deum. 

spes  eadem  mea  membra  manet, 
quae  redolentia  funereo 
iussa  quiescere  sarcophago, 
dux  parili  redivivus  humo 
ignea  Christus  ad  astra  vocat.  205 


3° 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,    III 

baneful  draught ;  let  it  not  please  us  to  handle 
aught  that  is  deadly  or  forbidden ;  and  let  our 
eating,  too,  observe  due  measure,  to  preserve  the 
flesh  but  hurt  it  not.  Let  the  terrible  serpents  be 
content  that  sinfui  food  brought  forth,  alas !  sad 
death  to  men's  bodies ;  be  it  enough  that  once 
through  sin  God's  creature  could  die.  The  work 
of  His  mouth,  the  glowing  life,  dies  not,  because 
being  created  by  the  breath  of  God  and  flowing  from 
I  the  heavenly  throne  of  the  Father,  its  maker,  it  has 
I  the  force  of  pure  reason.  Yea,  it  is  even  granted  to 
restore  the  dead  flesh  after  its  decease,  and  once 
again  from  its  tomb  the  old  form  is  reborn,  when  the 
mouldering  dust  comes  together.  I  indeed  believe 
i  (and  my  faith  is  not  vain)  that  bodies  live  as  does  the 
1  soul ;  for  now  I  bethink  me  it  was  in  bodily  form  that 
God  returned  from  Phlegethoii  with  easy  step  to 
heaven.  The  same  hope  awaits  my  members, 
which,  though  they  are  bidden  to  rest  scented  with 
spices  in  the  tomb  of  death,  Christ  my  leader,  who 
rose  from  the  like  earth,  calls  to  the  glowing  stars. 


1/ 


3* 


PRUDENTIUS 

IV 
Hymnus  post  Cibum 

Pastis  visceribus  ciboque  surapto, 
quem  lex  corporis  inbecilla  poscit, 
laudem  lingua  Deo  Patri  rependat, 

Patri,  qui  Cherubin  sedile  sacrum 
nee  non  et  Seraphin  suum  supremo  5 

subnixus  solio  tenet  regitque. 

hie  est  quem  Sabaoth  Deum  vocamus, 
expers  principii  carensque  fine, 
rerum  conditor  et  repertor  orbis, 

fons  vitae  liquida  fluens  ab  area,  10 

infusor  fidei,  sator  pudoris, 
mortis  perdomitor,  salutis  auctor. 

omnes  quod  sumus  aut  vigemus,  inde  est. 
regnat  Spiritus  ille  sempiternus 
a  Christo  simul  et  Parente  missus.  1 

intrat  pectora  candidus  pudica, 
quae  templi  vice  consecrata  rident 
postquam  conbiberint  Deum  medullis. 

sed  si  quid  vitii  dolive  nasci 
inter  viscera  iam  dicata  sensit,  201 

ceu  spurcum  refugit  celer  sacellum. 

taetrum  flagrat  enim  vapore  crasso  . } 

horror  conscius  aestuante  culpa,  f 

offensumque  bonum  niger  repellit. 

nee  solus  pudor  innocensve  votum  25j 

templum  constituunt  perenne  Christo 
in  cordis  medii  sinu  ac  recessu, 

sed  ne  crapula  ferveat  cavendum  est, 
quae  sedem  fidei  cibis  refertam 
usque  ad  congeriem  coartet  intus.  30' 


1 


THE  DAILY   ROUND,   IV 

IV 

A  Hymn  After  Meat 

Now  that  we  have  fed  our  flesh,  taking  the  food 
which  the  weakly  law  of  our  body  requires,  let  our 
tongue  render  due  praise  to  God  the  Father,  the 
Father  who,  sitting  on  the  supreme  throne,  holds 
sway  over  Cherubim  and  Seraphim,  His  sacred  seat. 
This  is  He  whom  we  call  God  of  Sabaoth,  who  is 
without  beginning  and  without  end,  maker  of  all 
things  and  creator  of  the  world,  source  of  life  flowing 
from  the  clear  light  of  heaven,  who  inspires  faith  and 
implants  goodness  in  us,  the  conqueror  of  death  and 
author  of  salvation.  From  Him  do  we  all  have  our 
being  and  our  life.  The  Spirit  reigns  eternal,  He 
whom  both  Christ  and  His  Father  have  sent.  In 
His  purity  He  enters  chaste  hearts,  which  are  con- 
secrated as  His  temple,  smiling  brightly  when  they 
have  drunk  deep  of  God.  But  if  He  perceives  sin 
or  guile  arising  in  the  flesh  now  dedicated  to  Him, 
swiftly  He  departs  as  from  an  unclean  shrine.  For 
the  disordered  conscience  bums  foully  with  thick 
smoke  as  the  fire  of  sin  rages,  and  its  blackness 
offends  and  drives  away  the  good.  Yet  not  alone  do 
purity  and  innocent  desire  make  an  everlasting  temple 
for  Christ  in  the  depths  of  the  heart  within  us,  but 
we  must  beware  of  the  fever  of  excess  that  would 
stuff  in  food  till  the  mass  of  it  constricted  the  seat 

33 

VOL.  I.  C 


PRUDENTIUS 

parcis  victibus  expedita  corda 
infusum  melius  Deum  receptant ; 
hie  pastus  animae  est  saporque  verus. 

sed  nos  tu  gemino  fovens  paratu 
artus  atque  animas  utroque  pastu  35 

confirmas,  Pafcer,  ac  vigore  conples. 

sic  olim  tua  praecluens  potestas 
inter  raucisonos  situm  leones 
inlapsis  dapibus  virum  refovit. 

ilium  fusile  numen  execrantem  40 

et  curvare  caput  sub  expolita 
aeris  materia  nefas  putantem 

plebs  dirae  Babylonis  ac  tyrannus 
morti  subdiderant,  feris  dicarant 
saevis  protinus  haustibus  vorandum.  45 

o  semper  pietas  fidesque  tuta ! 
lambunt  indomiti  virum  leones, 
intactumque  Dei  tremunt  alumnum. 

adstant  comminus  et  iubas  reponunt, 
mansuescit  rabies,  fameque  blanda  50 

praedam  rictibus  ambit  incruentis. 

sed  cum  tenderet  ad  superna  palmas 
expertumque  sibi  Deum  rogaret 
clausus  iugiter  indigensque  victus, 

iussus  nuntius  advolare  terris,  55 

qui  pastum  famulo  daret  probato, 
raptim  desilit  obsequente  mundo. 

cernit  forte  procul  dapes  inemptas, 
quas  messoribus  Ambacum  ^  propheta 
agresti  bonus  exhibebat  arte.  60 

huius  caesarie  manu  prehensa, 
plenis,  sicut  erat,  gravem  canistris 

^  This  is  the  form  of  the  name   in  the    Septuagint,  and 
presumably  in  the.  Latin  version  (if  any)  used  by  Prudentius. 

34 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,   IV 

of  faith  in  us.  Hearts  that  spare  UWng  leaves 
unencumbered  receive  better  the  inpouring  of  God ; 
He  is  the  soul's  true  food  and  savour.  But  Thou 
dost  make  twofold  provision  for  our  nurture ;  our 
bodies  and  our  souls  with  two  several  kinds  of 
sustenance  Thou  dost  strengthen  and  in\'igorate. 
Thus  once  Thy  renowTied  power  revived  a  man  set 
amid  rough-voiced  lions,  "with  a  meal  that  came  to 
him."  Because  he  abominated  a  god  cast  in  metal 
and  thought  it  sin  to  bow  his  head  before  a  material 
image  of  pohshed  bronze,  the  people  of  fell  Babylon 
and  their  king  had  exposed  him  to  death,  giving  him 
over  to  the  wild  beasts  to  be  devoured  forthwith 
by  their  cruel  jaws.  How  safe  always  are  goodness 
and  faith !  The  untamed  lions  Uck  the  hero,  and 
tremble  before  the  child  of  God,  hurting  him  not ! 
They  stand  close  by  him  >\"ith  manes  laid  back  ;  their 
fury  turned  to  gentleness  and  their  hunger  to  fawn- 
ing, they  walk  round  their  prey  with  jaws  unbloodied. 
But  when  he  stretched  his  hands  towards  heaven  in 
prayer  to  the  God  he  had  proved  before,  being  con- 
fined without  remission  and  in  need  of  food,  a 
messenger  was  bidden  to  fly  to  earth  and  give 
nourishment  to  His  tried  servant,  and  quickly 
descended,  while  the  heavens  made  way.  It  chanced 
that  some  way  off  he  descried  a  home-gro'WTi  meal 
which  the  kindly  prophet  Habakkuk  was  pro\'iding 
with  the  countryman's  rude  art  for  his  reapers. 
Grasping  him  by  the  hair,  he  carried  him  off  the 
ground  just  as  he  was,  with  the  load  of  his  full  baskets, 

•  The  story  is  in  "Bel  and  the  Dragon,"  to  be  found 
among  the  Apocrypha,  and  also  in  the  Septuagint  and 
Vulgate  as  chapter  14  of  the  Book  of  Daniel. 

35 


PRUDENTIUS 

suspensum  rapit  et  vehit  per  auras. 

turn  raptus  simul  ipse  prandiumque 
sensim  labitur  in  lacum  leonum,  65 

et  quas  tunc  epulas  gerebat  ofFert. 

"  sumas  laetus  "  ait  "  libensque  carpas, 
quae  summus  Pater  angelusque  Christi 
mittunt  liba  tibi  sub  hoc  periclo." 

his  sumptis  Danielus  excitavit  70 

in  caelum  faciem,  ciboque  fortis 
"  amen  "  reddidit,  "  alleluia  "  dixit. 

sic  nos  muneribus  tuis  refecti, 
largitor  Deus  omnium  bonorum, 
grates  reddimus  et  sacramus  hymnos.  75 

tu  nos  tristifico  velut  tyranno 
mundi  scilicet  inpotentis  actu 
conclusos  regis  et  feram  repellis, 

quae  circumfremit  ac  vorare  temptat, 
insanos  acuens  furore  dentes,  80 

cur  te,  summe  Deus,  precemur  unum. 

vexamur,  premimur,  malis  rotamur ; 
oderunt,  lacerant,  trahunt,  lacessunt ; 
iuncta  est  suppliciis  fides  iniquis. 

nee  defit  tamen  anxiis  medella ;  85 

nam  languente  truci  leonis  ira 
inlapsae  superingeruntur  escae.  I 

quas  si  quis  sitienter  hauriendo,  I 

non  gustu  tenui  sed  ore  pleno,  ■ 

internis  velit  inplicare  venis,  90 

hie  sancto  satiatus  ex  propheta 
iustorum  capiet  cibos  virorum, 
qui  fructum  Domino  metunt  perenni. 

nil  est  dulcius  ac  magis  saporum, 
nil  quod  plus  hominem  iuvare  possit,  95 

quam  vatis  pia  praecinentis  orsa. 


36 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,  IV 

and  bore  him  through  the  air.  Then  the  ra\ished 
prophet  and  his  meal  together  glided  gently  down 
into  the  Uons'  den,  and  he  proffered  the  feast  he  was 
carrying.  "  Take  with  good  cheer,"  said  he,  "  and 
eat  readily  the  \iands  which  the  supreme  Father  and 
the  angel  of  Christ  send  thee  in  this  thy  danger." 
So  Daniel  took  them  and  Ufted  his  face  towards 
heaven,  and  being  now  fortified  with  food,  said 
"  Amen,  Alleluia "  in  response.  In  the  same 
manner  we,  being  refreshed  by  Thy  gifts,  O  God, 
the  generous  giver  of  all  good  things,  return  thanks 
and  dedicate  our  hymns  to  Thee.  Imprisoned  as 
we  are  by  the  world's  cruel  violence,  as  it  were  by  a 
grim  despot,  Thou  dost  direct  us  and  drive  away  the 
wild  beast  that  goes  roaring  round  about  and  seeks 
to  devour  us,  sharpening  its  teeth  to  frenzy  with 
rage,  for  that,  O  God  supreme,  we  pray  to  Thee  alone. 
We  are  afflicted,  oppressed,  tossed  about  with  e\-ils ; 
men  hate  us,  tear  us,  carr}'  us  away  captive,  assail 
us;  faith  is  yoked  to  unjust  penalties.  Yet  in  our 
trouble  we  lack  not  healing  comfort,  for  food  comes 
down  to  us  from  above,  and  the  Uon's  fierce  wrath 
subsides.  And  if  a  man  be  wilUng  to  swallow  it 
eagerly,  not  tasting  daintily  but  by  mouthfuls,  and 
make  it  part  and  parcel  of  his  inner  being,  then  will 
he  receive  from  the  holy  prophet  the  food  of  righteous 
men  who  reap  the  han'est  for  their  everlasting 
Master,  and  ^rill  be  satisfied.  Nought  is  sweeter 
or  more  savoury,  nought  more  helpful  to  man,  than 
the  devout  words  of  the  prophet  foretelling  things  to 

37 


38 


PRUDENTIUS 

his  sumptis  licet  insolens  potestas 
pravum  iudicet  inrogetque  mortem, 
inpasti  licet  inruant  leones, 

nos  semper  Dominum  Patrem  fatentes    100 
in  te,  Christe  Deus,  loquemur  unum, 
constanterque  tuam  crucem  feremus. 


Hymnus  ad  Incensum  Lucernae 

Inventor  rutili,  dux  bone,  luminis, 
qui  certis  vicibus  tempora  dividis, 
merso  sole  chaos  ingruit  horridum. 
lucem  redde  tuis,  Christe,  fidelibus. 

quamvis  innumero  sidere  regiam  5 

lunarique  polum  lampade  pinxeris, 
incussu  silicis  lumina  nos  tamen 
monstras  saxigeno  semine  quaerere, 

ne  nesciret  homo  spem  sibi  luminis 
in  Christi  solido  corpore  conditam,  10 

qui  dici  stabilem  se  voluit  petram, 
nostris  igniculis  unde  genus  venit. 

pinguis  quos  olei  rore  madentibus 
lychnis  aut  facibus  pascimus  aridis, 
quin  et  fila  favis  scirpea  floreis  15 

presso  melle  prius  conlita  fingimus. 

vivax  flamma  viget,  seu  cava  testula 
sucum  linteolo  suggerit  ebrio, 
seu  pinus  piceam  fert  alimoniam, 
seu  ceram  teretem  stuppa  calens  bibit.  20 

nectar  de  liquido  vertice  fervidum 
guttatim  lacrimis  stillat  olentibus, 
ambustum  quoniam  vis  facit  ignea 


THE   DAILY  ROUND,  V 

come.  Once  we  take  this  food,  arrogant  power  may 
pass  per\-erse  judgment  and  condemn  us  to  death, 
the  star\ed  lions  may  rush  upon  us ;  but  as  for  us, 
we  shall  ever  make  confession  that  our  Lord  the 
Father  is  one  in  Thee,  O  God  Christ,  and  with 
constancy  shall  bear  Thy  cross. 


A  Hymn  for  the  Lighting  of  the  Lamp 

Creator  of  the  glowing  light,  our  kindly  guide,  who 
dost  divide  the  times  in  a  fixed  order  of  seasons,  now 
the  sun  has  sunk  and  the  gruesome  darkness  comes 
upon  us ;  give  light  again,  O  Christ,  to  Thy  faithful 
ones.  Albeit  Thou  hast  adorned  the  heavens.  Thy 
royal  court,  with  countless  stars  and  >\ith  the  moon's 
lamp,  yet  Thou  teachest  us  to  seek  light  from  a  stone- 
bom  spark  by  striking  the  flint,  that  man  might 
know  that  his  hope  of  light  is  founded  on  the  firm 
body  of  Christ,  who  ^villed  that  He  be  called  the 
steadfast  rock,  from  whence  our  little  fires  draw  their 
origin.  With  lamps  bedewed  ^vith  rich  oil,  or  with 
dry  torches,  we  feed  them,  and  we  make  rush-candles 
too,  smearing  them  ^\^th  flower-scented  wax  of  the 
combs  after  the  honey  has  been  pressed  from  them. 
The  lively  flame  thrives,  whether  it  be  a  little  earthen 
bowl  that  supplies  sap  to  a  thirsty  linen  wick,  or 
pinewood  that  brings  its  pitchy  sustenance,  or  a  warm 
tow  that  drinks  up  the  smooth,  round  wax,  while  hot 
nectar  trickles  from  the  molten  top  in  scented  tear- 
drops, for  the  strong  heat  sends  them  dripping  in  a 

39 


PRUDENTIUS 

imbrem  de  madido  flere  cacumine. 

splendent  ergo  tuis  rauneribus,  Pater,       25 
flammis  nobilibus  ^  scilicet  atria, 
absentemque  diem  lux  agit  aemula, 
quam  nox  cum  lacero  victa  fugit  peplo. 

sed  quis  non  rapidi  luminis  arduam 
manantemque  Deo  cernat  originem  ?  30 

Moses  nempe  Deum  spinifero  in  rubo 
vidit  conspicuo  lumine  flammeum. 

felix  qui  meruit  sentibus  in  sacris 
caelestis  solii  visere  principem, 
iussus  nexa  pedum  vincula  solvere  35 

ne  sanctum  involucris  poUueret  locum. 

hunc  ignem  populus  sanguinis  inclyti, 
maiorum  meritis  tutus  et  inpotens, 
suetus  sub  dominis  vivere  barbaris, 
iam  liber  sequitur  longa  per  avia.  40 

qua  gressum  tulerant  castraque  caerulae 
noctis  per  medium  concita  moverant, 
plebem  pervigilem  fulgure  praevio 
ducebat  radius  sole  micantior. 

sed  rex  Niliaci  litoris  invido  45 

fervens  felle  iubet  praevalidam  manum 
in  bellum  rapidis  ire  cohortibus, 
ferratasque  acies  clangere  classicum. 

sumunt  arma  viri  seque  minacibus 
accingunt  gladiis,  triste  canit  tuba.  50 

hie  fidit  iaculis,  ille  volantia 
praefigit  calamis  spicula  Gnosiis. 

densetur  cuneis  turba  pedestribus, 
currus  pars  et  equos  et  volucres  rotas 
conscendunt  celeres,  signaque  bellica  55 

praetendunt  tumidis  clara  draconibus. 

1  mobilibus  in  some  MSS.  of  both  classes, 
40 


i 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,  V 

burning  shower  from  the  liquid  summit.  So  our  halls 
shine,  Father,  with  Thy  gifts  of  noble  flames ;  their 
emulous  hght  plays  the  part  of  day  when  it  has  gone, 
and  night  with  torn  mantle  flees  before  it  in  defeat. 
But  who  would  not  discern  that  the  swift  light  has 
its  source  on  high  and  flows  from  God?  Moses  in 
truth  saw  God  in  a  prickly  bush  in  the  form  of  flame 
with  brilUant  light.  Blessed  was  he  who  was  worthy 
to  behold  in  the  sacred  brier  the  lord  of  the  heavenly 
throne,  and  was  bidden  to  undo  the  ties  on  his  feet 
lest  with  their  coverings  he  pollute  the  holy  place. 
It  was  this  fire  that  the  nation  of  illustrious  blood, 
preserved  by  its  fathers'  merits  and  of  no  strength 
itself,  when  at  last  set  free  after  long  living  under 
barbarous  lords,  followed  far  over  desert  ways. 
Wherever  they  turned  their  steps,  rousing  and  mov- 
ing their  camp  amid  the  darkness  of  night,  a  ray  that 
flashed  brighter  than  the  sun  led  the  unsleeping 
people  with  a  gleam  that  went  before  them.  But  the 
king  who  ruled  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  burning 
with  a  jealous  hatred,  commands  a  mighty  force  to 
go  to  war  in  swift-marching  companies,  and  his  iron- 
clad ranks  to  sound  the  loud  bugle.  His  warriors 
take  up  arms,  girding  themselves  with  menacing 
swords,  and  the  trumpet  blows  its  grim  call.  One 
puts  his  trust  in  javelins,  another  fixes  sharp,  flying 
heads  on  Gnosian"  shafts.  The  multitude  forms  up 
in  serried  ranks  of  foot;  others  swiftly  mount 
chariots  with  their  horses  and  flying  wheels,  and  dis- 
play their  banners  of  war  with  their  famous  dragons  * 

"  I.e.  Cretan,  another  literary  epithet. 

*  Prudentiua  ascribes  to  Pharaoh  a  banner  of  the  Roman 
imperial  armies.  It  is  described  bv  Ammianus  Marcellinus, 
XVI,  10,  7. 

41 
c2 


PRUDENTIUS 

hie  iam  servitii  nescia  pristini 
gens  Pelusiacis  usta  vaporibus 
tandem  purpurei  gurgitis  hospita 
rubris  litoribus  fessa  resederat.  60 

hostis  dirus  adest  cum  duce  perfido, 
infert  et  validis  proelia  viribus. 
Moses  porro  suos  in  mare  praecipit 
constans  intrepidis  tendere  gressibus. 

praebent  rupta  locum  stagna  viantibus,     65 
riparum  in  faciem  pervia  sistitur 
circumstans  vitreis  unda  liquoribus, 
dum  plebs  sub  bifido  permeat  aequore. 

pubes  quin  etiam  decolor  asperis 
inritata  odiis  rege  sub  inpio  70 

Hebraeum  sitiens  fundere  sanguinem 
audet  se  pelago  credere  concavo. 

ibant  praecipiti  turbine  percita 
fluctus  per  medios  agmina  regia, 
sed  confusa  dehinc  unda  revolvitur  75 

in  semet  revolans  gurgite  confluo. 

currus  tunc  et  equos  telaque  naufraga 
ipsos  et  proceres  et  vaga  corpora 
nigrorum  videas  nare  satellitum, 
arcis  iustitium  triste  tyrannicae.  80 

quae  tandem  poterit  lingua  retexere 
laudes,  Christe,  tuas  ?  qui  domitam  Pharon 
plagis  multimodis  cedere  praesuli 
cogis  iustitiae  vindice  dextera ; 

qui  pontum  rabidis  ^  aestibus  invium  85 

persultare  vetas,  ut  refluo  in  solo  ^ 
securus  pateat  te  duce  transitus, 
et  mox  unda  rapax  ut  voret  inpios ; 

cui  ieiuna  eremi  saxa  loquacibus 
exundant  scatebris,  et  latices  novos  90 


42 


THE   DAILY  ROUND,  V 

swelling.  At  this  time,  free  now  from  its  ancient 
bondage,  the  race  that  had  burned  under  Egypt's 
heat  had  at  length  halted,  weary  and  in  a  strange 
land,  on  the  shores  of  the  Red  Sea.  Their  dread 
enemy  is  upon  them  under  his  faithless  leader,  and 
with  strong  forces  launches  the  attack ;  but  Moses 
firmly  bids  his  people  go  forward  into  the  sea  with 
steps  unfaltering.  The  flood  separates  and  makes 
room  for  them  as  they  travel ;  the  waves,  opening  a 
path  as  it  were  between  banks,  stand  still  with  glassy 
waters  on  either  hand  while  the  people  pass  over  on 
the  bed  of  the  divided  sea.  Yea,  the  swarthy  warriors 
too,  under  their  ungodly  king,  stirred  by  their  bitter 
hatred  and  thirsting  to  shed  Hebrew  blood,  venture  to 
trust  themselves  to  that  trough  in  the  deep.  In  head- 
long rush  the  king's  columns  were  sweeping  Hke  a 
hiu-ricane  through  the  midst  of  the  flood ;  but  now  the 
waters  pour  together  and  roll  back  on  themselves, 
racing  to  meet  again.  Then  could  be  seen  the  wTcck  of 
chariots  and  horses  and  weapons,  and  the  princes  too, 
and  bodies  of  their  black  henchmen  floating  this  way 
and  that,  a  sad  day  of  mourning  for  the  despot's  throne. 
What  tongue  can  tell  Thy  praises,  O  Christ?  Thou 
dost  overcome  Egypt  and  by  manifold  afflictions 
compel  her  to  give  way  to  the  protector  of  righteous- 
ness through  the  deliverance  of  Thy^ right  hand.  The 
sea,  impassable  when  its  suites  rage.  Thou  dost 
forbid  to  leap,  that  on  its  bed  laid  bare  there  may 
open  a  passage  that  is  safe  under  Thy  guidance,  and 
then  the  ravenous  waves  may  swallow  up  the  ungodly. 
At  Thy  command  the  barren  rocks  of  the  desert  gush 
with  babbling  springs,  and  the  cleft  flint  pours  forth 

'  rapidis  in  some  MSS.  of  class  B. 
^  salo  in  some  MSS.  of  both  classes. 

43 


PRUDENTIUS 

fundit  scissa  silex,  quae  sitientibus 
dat  potum  populis  axe  sub  igneo. 

instar  fellis  aqua  tristifico  in  lacu 
fit  ligni  venia  mel  velut  Atticum. 
lignum  est  quo  sapiunt  aspera  dulcius,  95 

nam  praefixa  cruci  spes  hominum  viget. 

inplet  castra  cibus  tunc  quoque  ninguidus, 
inlabens  gelida  grandine  densius  ; 
his  mensas  epulis,  hac  dape  construunt, 
quam  dat  sidereo  Christus  ab  aethere.         100 

nee  non  imbrifero  ventus  anhelitu 
crassa  nube  leves  invehit  alites, 
quae,  difflata  in  humum  cum  semel  agmina 
fluxerunt,  reduci  non  revolant  fuga. 

haec  olim  patribus  praemia  contulit  105 

insignis  pietas  numinis  unici, 
cuius  subsidio  nos  quoque  vescimur 
pascentes  dapibus  pectora  mysticis. 

fessos  ille  vocat  per  freta  saeculi 
discissis  populum  turbinibus  regens,  110 

iactatasque  animas  mille  laboribus 
iustorum  in  patriam  scandere  praecipit. 

illic  purpureis  tecta  rosariis 
omnis  fragrat  humus  caltaque  pinguia 
et  molles  violas  et  tenues  crocos  115 

fundit  fonticulis  uda  fugacibus. 

illic  et  gracili  balsama  surculo 
desudata  fluunt,  raraque  cinnama 
spirant,  et  folium,  fonte  quod  abdito 
praelambens  fluvius  portat  in  exitum.  120 

felices  animae  prata  per  herbida 
concentu  pariles  suave  sonantibus 
hymnorum  modulis  dulce  canunt  melos, 
calcant  et  pedibus  lilia  candidis. 


44 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,  V 

new  streams,  giving  drink  to  the  multitudes  that  thirst 
under  the  burning  sky.  Water  that  tasted  like  gall 
in  the  pool  of  bitterness  is  made,  by  \-irtue  of  a  log 
of  wood,  like  the  honey  of  Attica."  Wood  it  is  where- 
by bitter  things  taste  sweeter;  for  it  is  when  fixed 
on  the  cross  that  men's  hope  is  strong.  Then  food, 
too,  fills  the  camp,  dropping  Uke  snow,  showering 
more  thickly  than  the  chilly  hail ;  and  with  this  meal, 
this  feast,  which  Christ  gives  them  from  the  starry 
heavens,  they  furnish  their  tables.*  And  the  >vind 
with  rainy  blast  brings  light-winged  birds  in  a  thick 
cloud,  which  when  once  their  ranks  are  scattered  by 
the  breeze  and  stream  to  the  ground,  fly  not  away 
again."  These  gifts  once  the  surpassing  goodness  of 
the  one  God  gave  to  our  fathers  ;  and  by  His  support 
we  too  are  fed,  nurturing  our  hearts  with  a  mysric 
feast.  He  calls  the  wearj-  over  the  sea  of  the  world 
and  guides  His  people,  cleaving  the  storms ;  souls 
that  have  been  tossed  by  a  thousand  distresses  He 
bids  go  up  into  the  country  of  the  righteous.  There 
all  the  ground  is  covered  and  scented  with  beds  of 
red  roses ;  watered  by  running  streamlets  it  pours 
forth  rich  marigolds  and  soft  violets  and  tender 
crocuses.  There  balsam,  too,  exudes  in  a  stream 
from  its  slender  shoot,  the  rare  cinnamon  breathes 
its  scent,  and  the  leaf**  which  the  river  by  whose 
stream  it  grows  carries  from  its  hidden  source  to  its 
mouth.  The  blessed  souls  over  the  grassy  meads 
sing  their  sweet  song  in  harmonious  concert,  and 
pleasantly  sounds  the  melody  of  their  hymns,  as  with 
white  feet  they  tread  the  UUes.     And  the  guilty 

•  Cf.  Exodus  XV,  23-25.  »  Exodas  xvi,  14  ff. 

'  Numbers  xi,  31. 

"*  Of  nard,  brought  down  the  Indus  and  the  Ganges. 

45 


PRUDENTIUS 

sunt  et  spiritibus  saepe  nocentibus  125 

poenarum  celebres  sub  Styge  feriae 
ilia  nocte,  sacer  qua  rediit  Deus 
stagnis  ad  superos  ex  Acherunticis, 

non  sicut  tenebras  de  face  fulgida 
surgens  Oceano  Lucifer  inbuit,  130 

sed  terris  Domini  de  cruce  tristibus 
maior  sole  novum  restituens  diem. 

marcent  suppliciis  Tartara  mitibus, 
exultatque  sui  carceris  otio 
functorum^  populus  liber  ab  ignibus,  135 

nee  fervent  solito  flumina  sulphure. 

nos  festis  trahimus  per  pia  gaudia 
noctem  conciliis  votaque  prospera 
certatim  vigili  congerimus  prece, 
extructoque  agimus  liba  sacrario.  140 

pendent  mobilibus  lumina  funibus, 
quae  suffixa  micant  per  laquearia, 
et  de  languidulis  fota  natatibus 
lucem  perspicuo  flamma  iacit  vitro. 

credas  stelligeram  desuper  aream  145 

ornatam  geminis  stare  trionibus, 
et  qua  bosphoreum  temo  regit  iugum 
passim  purpureos  spargier  hesperos. 

o  res  digna,  Deus,^  quam  tibi  roscidae 
noctis  principio  grex  tuus  offerat,  150 

lucem,  qua  tribuis  nil  pretiosius, 
lucem,  qua  reliqua  praemia  cernimus. 

tu  lux  vera  oculis,  lux  quoque  sensibus, 
intus  tu  speculum,  tu  speculum  foris ; 
lumen  quod  famulans  ofFero,  suscipe,  155 

tinctum  pacifici  chrismatis  unguine, 

per  Christum  genitum,  summe  Pater,  tuum, 
in  quo  visibilis  stat  tibi  gloria, 


46 


THE   DAILY   ROUND,   V 

spirits  too,  in  their  crowds  often  have  holiday  from 
punishment  in  hell,  on  the  night  on  which  the  holy 
God  returned  to  the  world  of  men  from  the  waters  of 
Acheron,  not  like  the  morning  star  when  it  rises  from 
Ocean  and  first  tinges  the  darkness  with  its  shining 
torch,  but  a  grea+er  than  the  sun,  restoring  new  day 
to  a  world  saddened  by  the  cross  of  its  Lord.  Hell's 
force  abates,  its  punishments  are  mild,  and  the  people 
of  the  dead,  set  free  from  the  fires,  rejoices  in  the 
relaxation  of  its  imprisonment,  nor  do  the  sulphurous 
rivers  boil  as  hot  as  they  are  wont.  As  for  us,  we 
pass  the  long  night  with  pious  gladness  in  festal  con- 
gregations," in  sleepless  prayer  we  earnestly  heap  up 
petitions  that  will  be  granted,  and  on  the  altar  raised 
up  make  offerings  to  God.  The  lamps  gleam  out,  that 
hang  by  swaying  cords  from  every  panel  of  the  roof, 
and  the  flame,  fed  by  the  oil  on  which  it  floats  lazily, 
casts  its  light  through  the  clear  glass.  One  would 
think  the  starry  space  stood  over  us,  decked  with  the 
twin  Bears,  and  that  bright  evening  stars  were  ever)-- 
where  scattered,  where  the  Wain  directs  its  team  of 
oxen.  How  worthy  a  thing,  O  God,  for  Thy  flock 
to  offer  Thee  at  dewy  night's  beginning — light.  Thy 
most  precious  gift,  light,  by  which  we  perceive  all 
Thy  other  blessings  !  Thou  art  the  true  light  of  our 
eyes,  the  true  light  of  our  minds ;  by  Thee  we  see 
as  in  a  glass  within,  a  glass  without.  Take  the  light 
which  in  Thy  service  I  offer,  dipped  in  the  unction 
of  the  oil  of  peace ;  through  Christ  Thy  son,  O 
Highest  Father,  in  whom  Thy  glory  stands  visible ; 

•  At  the   service  on   Easter  eve,   lasting   throughout   the 
night,  and  for  which  churches  were  brilliantly  illuminated. 


^  umbrarum  in  A  and  some  other  M8S.  of  both  classes. 
*  Pater  in  ACD. 


47 


PRUDENTIUS 

qui  noster  Dominus,  qui  tuus  unicus 

spirat  de  patrio  corde  Paraclitum.  160 

per  quem  splendor,  honos,  laus,  sapientia, 
maiestas,  bonitas  et  pietas  tua 
regnum  continuat  numine  triplici, 
texens  perpetuis  saecula  saeculis. 


VI         J 
Hymnus  ante  Somnum 

Ades,  Pater  supreme, 
quem  nemo  vidit  umquam, 
patrisque  Sermo  Christe, 
et  Spiritus  benigne, 

o  Trinitatis  huius  5 

vis  una,  lumen  unum,^ 
deus  ex  Deo  perennis, 
deus  ex  utroque  missus. 

fluxit  labor  diei, 
redit  et  quietis  hora,  10 

blandus  sopor  vicissim 
fessos  relaxat  artus. 

mens  aestuans  proeellis, 
curisque  saueiata, 

totis  bibit  medullis  15 

obliviale  poclum. 

serpit  per  omne  corpus 
Lethaea  vis,  nee  ullum 
miseris  doloris  aegri 
patitur  manere  sensum.  20 

lex  haec  data  est  caducis 
deo  iubente  membris, 


48 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,  VI 

Christ  our  Lord  and  Thy  only-begotten,  who  from  His 
Father's  heart  breathes  the  Comforter;  through 
whom  Thy  glory  and  honour  and  praise  and  wisdom, 
Thy  majesty  and  goodness  and  love  extend  Thy 
kingdom  with  its  three-fold  Godhead,  uniting  age  to 
age  for  ever  and  ever. 


VI 

A  Hymn  Before  Sleep 

Be  present,  most  high  Father,  whom  no  man  hath 
seen  at  any  time,  and  Christ  the  Word  of  the  Father, 
and  Thou,  kindly  Spirit ;  O  Thou  who  in  this  Trinity 
art  one  essence  and  one  light,  God  of  God  everlasting, 
and  God  sent  forth  of  both.  The  day's  toil  is  past 
and  the  hour  of  rest  comes  again ;  caressing  slumber 
in  its  turn  relaxes  our  tired  limbs.  The  mind  storm- 
tossed  and  careworn  drinks  deep  the  cup  of  forgetful- 
ness.  ObHvion  steals  over  all  the  body  and  lets  no 
sense  of  soreness  abide  with  the  afflicted.  This  is 
the  law  appointed  by  God's  command  for  our  frail 

^  ACDP  (foUowed  by  Bergman)  have  via  ac  potestas  una. 

49 


PRUDENTIUS 

ut  temperet  laborem 
medicabilis  voluptas. 

sed  dum  pererrat  omnes  25 

quies  arnica  venas 
pectusque  feriatum 
placat  rigante  somno, 

liber  vagat  per  auras 
rapido  vigor e  sensus,  30 

variasque  per  figuras 
quae  sunt  operta  cernit ; 
quia  mens  soluta  curis, 
cui  est  origo  caelum 

purusque  fons  ab  aethra,  «50 

iners  iacere  nescit. 

imitata  multiformes 
facies  sibi  ipsa  fingit, 
per  quas  repente  currens 
tenui  fruatur  actu.  *^ 

sed  sensa  somniantum 
dispar  fatigat  horror, 
nunc  splendor  intererrat, 
qui  dat  futura  nosse ; 

plerumque  dissipatis  4^ 

mendax  imago  veris 
animos  pavore  maestos 
ambage  fallit  atra. 

quern  rara  culpa  morum 
non  polluit  frequenter,  5^ 

hunc  lux  serena  vibrans 
res  edocet  latentes ;   f^-'^'"' j^J^o^  '^' ' 

at  qui  ^oinquinatum    i^^^^^^"^     r.  _. , 
vitiis  cor  inpiavit,  I 

lusus  pavore  multo  ^^ 

species  videt  tremendas. 


5° 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,  VI 

members,  that  healing  pleasure  temper  toil.  But 
while  kindly  repose  spreads  through  all  our  body, 
and  as  sleep  floods  it,  lulls  the  heart  to  rest  from 
labour,  the  spirit  roams  free  through  the  air,  quick 
and  lively,  and  in  diverse  figures  sees  things  that 
are  hidden ;  for  the  mind,  whose  source  is  heaven 
and  whose  pure  fount  is  from  the  skie^,  cannot 
lie  idle  when  it  is  freed  from  care.  By  imitation 
it  fashions  for  itself  images  of  many  shapes,  to  enjoy 
a  ghostly  activity  while  it  courses  qxiickly  through 
them.  But  by  contrast  terror  troubles  our  thoughts 
in  dreams.  At  times  a  brilhant  light  comes  in  upon 
them  and  gives  us  knowledge  of  things  to  be ;  often 
reality  is  scattered  and  a  lying  image  makes  our 
minds  unhappy  and  afraid  and  deceives  them  with 
a  dark  obscurity.  If  a  man's  stains  of  guilty  con- 
duct are  few  and  far  between,  him  the  clear,  flashing 
light  teaches  secret  things ;  but  he  who  has  j)olluted 
and  befouled  his  heart  with  sins  is  the  sport  of  many  a 
fear  and  sees  frightful  visions.     This  our  patriarch  ' 

o  Genesis  xl  and  xli. 

51 


PRUDENTIUS 

hoc  patriarcha  noster 
sub  carceris  catena 
geminis  simul  ministris 
interpres  adprobavit, 

quorum  regressus  unus 
dat  poculum  tyranno, 
ast  alterum  rapaces 
fixum  vorant  volucres. 

ipsum  deinde  regem, 
perplexa  somniantem, 
monuit  famem  futuram 
clausis  cavere  acervis. 

mox  praesul  ac  tetrarches 
regnum  per  omne  iussus 
sociam  tenere  virgam, 
dominae  resedit  aulae. 

o  quam  profunda  iustis 
arcana  per  soporem 
aperit  tuenda  Christus, 
quam  clara,  quam  tacenda ! 

evangelista  siunmi 
fidissimus  Magistri 
signata  quae  latebant 
nebulis  videt  remotis : 

ipsum  Tonantis  agnum 
de  caede  purpurantem, 
qui  conscium  futuri 
librum  resignat  unus. 

huius  maniun  potentem 
gladius  perarmat  anceps, 
et  fulgurans  utrimque 
duplicem  minatur  ictum. 

quaesitor  ille  solus 
animaeque  corporisque, 


52 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,  VI 

proved  by  his  interpretation  to  two  ministers  who 
were  with  him  in  the  bondage  of  prison :  the  one 
is  restored  and  again  hands  the  cup  to  the  king,  but 
the  other  is  hanged  and  the  birds  of  prey  devour 
him.  Next  he  warned  the  king  himself,  when  he 
dreamt  a  dream  inscrutable,  to  provide  against  coming 
famine  by  shutting  plenty  up  in  store.  Then  was 
he  made  ruler  and  governor  over  all  the  kingdom 
and  bidden  to  bear  the  sceptre  in  partnership,  and 
he  dwelt  at  the  king's  court.  How  deep  the  mysteries 
Christ  lays  open  to  the  sight  of  the  righteous  in  their 
sleep !  How  clear,  and  not  to  be  uttered !  The  most 
faithful  evangehst  *•  of  the  great  Master,  when  the 
clouds  are  dispelled,  sees  things  that  formerly  were 
sealed  in  darkness  :  the  very  Lamb  of  the  Thunderer, 
red  from  the  slaughter,  who  alone  unseals  the  book 
that  has  knowledge  of  things  to  be.  His  mighty 
hand  is  armed  with  a  two-edged  sword,  and  flashing 
this  way  and  that  it  threatens  two  strokes  at  once. 
«|He  alone  is  inquisitor  of  soul  and  body  both,  and  the 

"  Revelation  v,  6-9. 

53 


PRUDENTIUS 

ensisque  bis  timendus 
prima  ac  secunda  mors  est. 

idem  tamen  benignus 
ultor  retundit  iram, 
paucosquelnon  piorum 
patitur  perire  in  aevum. 
huic  inclytus  perenne 
tribuit  Pater  tribunal, 
hunc  obtinere  iussit 
nomen  supra  omne  nomen.  i^ 

hie  praepotens  cruenti 
extinctor  Antichristi, 
qui  de  furente  monstro 
pulchrum  refert  tropaeum. 

quam  bestiara  capaeem  i"^ 

populosque  devorantem, 
quam  sanguinis  Charybdem 
lohannis  execratur ; 

banc  nempe,  quae  sacratum 
praeferre  nomen  ausa 
imam  petit  gehennam 
Christo  perempta  vero. 

tali  sopore  iustus 
mentem  relaxat  heros, 
ut  spiritu  sagaci 
caelum  peragret  omne. 

nos  nil  meremur  horum, 
quos  creber  inplet  error, 
concreta  quos  malarum 
vitiat  cupido  rerum. 

sat  est  quiete  dulci 
fessum  fovere  corpus ; 
sat,  si  nihil  sinistrum 
vanae  mineRtur  umbrae, 


54 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,  VI 
blade  twice  to  be  feared  is  the  first  and  second  death. 
Yet  in  kindness  too  the  Avenger  blunts  the  edge  of 
His  wTath,  and  suffers  but  few  of  the  ungodly  to 
perish  for  ever.  To  Him  the  illustrious  Father  has 
assigned  the  everlasting  judgment-seat ;  Him  He  has 
commanded  to  hold  a  name  above  every  name.  He 
is  the  mighty  destroyer  of  the  bloody  Antichrist, 
and  over  that  raxing  monster  wins  a  noble  victory. 
This  is  the  beast,  which  nothing  can  fill,  which  de- 
vours the  nations,  the  blood-engulfing  Charj'bdis  that 
John  curses ;  the  beast  that  dared  to  boast  the  holy 
name  and  is  slain  by  the  true  Christ  and  plunges 
to  the  depths  of  hell.  Such  is  the  sleep  with  which 
the  righteous  hero  rests  his  mind,  that  with  prophetic 
spirit  it  traverses  the  whole  heaven.  As  for  us,  we 
merit  none  of  these  things,  for  many  an  error  fills 
jur  heart,  and  a  hardened  desire  for  evil  things 
corrupts  xis.  It  is  enough  with  sweet  repose  to  re- 
fresh the  tired  body,  enough  if  unsubstantial  phan- 

55 


PRUDENTIUS 

cultor  Dei,  memento 
te  fontis  et  lavacri 
rorem  subisse  sanctum, 
te  chrismate  innotatum. 

fac,  cum  vocante  somno 
castum  petis  cubile, 
frontem  locumque  cordis 
crucis  figura  signet. 

crux  pellit  omne  crimen, 
fugiunt  crucem  tenebrae : 
tali  dicata  signo 
mens  fluctuare  nescit. 

procul,  o  procul  vagantum 
portenta  somniorum, 
procul  esto  pervicaci 
praestigiator  actu. 

o  tortuose  serpens, 
qui  mille  per  meandros 
fraudesque  flexuosas 
agitas  quieta  corda, 

discede,  Christus  hie  est, 
hie  Christus  est,  hquesce. 
signum  quod  ipse  nosti 
damnat  tuam  catervam. 

corpus  licet  fatiscens 
iaceat  recline  paulum, 
Christum  tamen  sub  ipso 
meditabimur  sopore. 

VII 

HvMNus  Ieiunantium 

O  Nazarene,  lux  Bethlem,  Verbum  Patris, 
quem  partus  alvi  virginaUs  protulit, 
56 


THE   DAILY   ROUND,  VII 

toms  threaten  no  ill.     Worshipper  of  God,  remember 
that  thou  has  been  washed  in  the  holy  water  of 
baptism  and  marked  with  the  holy  oil.     See  that, 
when  at  the  call  of  sleep  thou  seekest  thy  pure 
3ouch,  the  sign  of  the  cross  seals  thy  brow  and  the 
place  where  lies  thy  heart.     The  cross  drives  out 
every  sin ;    before  the  cross  darkness  flees  away ; 
consecrated  with  this  sign,  the  spirit  cannot  be  un- 
quiet.    Away,    away    with    the    monstrosities    of 
•ambUng  dreams !     Away  with  the  deceiver  and  his 
persistent   guile !     O    twining    serpent    that    by    a 
:housand  winding  ways  and  twisting  deceptions  dost 
iisturb  hearts  at  rest,  depart,  for  Christ  is  here! 
Jhrist  is  here :  vanish  away !     The  sign  thou  thyself 
inowest    condemns     thy     company.     Though    the 
veary  body  lie  down  for  a  httle,  yet  even  in  sleep 
)ur  thoughts  shall  be  of  Christ. 

VII 
A  Hymn  of  the  Fasting 
O  Nazarene,  Light  of  Bethlehem,  Word  of  the 
ither,  offspring  of  a  virgin's  womb,  be  present, 

57 


PRUDENTIUS 

adesto  castis,  Christe,  parsimoniis, 
festumque  nostrum  rex  serenus  aspice, 
ieiuniorum  dum  litamus  victimam. 

nil  hoc  profecto  purius  mysterio, 
quo  fibra  cordis  expiatur  vividi, 
intemperata  quo  domantur  viscera, 
arvina  putrem  ne  resudans  crapulam 
obstrangulatae  mentis  ingenium  premat.  10 

hinc  subiugatur  luxus  et  turpis  gula, 
vini  atque  somni  degener  socordia, 
libido  sordens,  inverecundus  lepos, 
variaeque  pestes  languidorum  sensuum 
parcam  subactae  disciplinam  sentiunt.  l^-j 

nam  si  Reenter  diffluens  potu  et  cibo 
ieiuna  rite  membra  non  coerceas, 
sequitur  frequenti  marcida  oblectamine 
scintilla  mentis  ut  tepescat  nobilis, 
animusque  pigris  stertat  in  praecordiis.  20. 

frenentur  ergo  corporum  cupidines, 
detersa  et  intus  emicet  prudentia ; 
sic  excitato  perspicax  acumine 
liberque  flatu  laxiore  spiritus 
rerum  parentem  rectius  precabitur.  25 

Elia  tali  crevit  observantia, 
vetus  sacerdos,  ruris  hospes  aridi, 
fragore  ab  omni  quem  remotum  et  segregem 
sprevisse  tradunt  criminum  frequentiam, 
casto  fruentem  Syrtium  silentio.  30 

sed  mox  in  auras  igneis  iugalibus 
curruque  raptus  evolavit  praepete, 
ne  de  propinquo  sordium  contagio 
dirus  quietum  mundus  afflaret  virum 
olim  probatis  inclytum  ieiuniis.  35 

non  ante  caeli  principem  septemplicis 


58 


11 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,  MI 

Christ,  at  our  pious  acts  of  abstinence,  and  as  our 

King  look  ■«'ith  favour  on  our  holy  day  while  we  offer 

the  sacrifice  of  our  fast.     Nothing  surely  is  purer 

than  this  rite,  whereby  the  heart  is  enlivened  through 

the  cleansing  of  its  tissues,  and  the  intemperate  flesh 

subdued  so  that  fat,  exuding  the  stinking  sweat  of 

excess,    shall    not    constrict    and    choke    the    mind. 

Hereby    are    conquered    indulgence    and    shameful 

appetite,  the  debased  sloth  that  comes  of  wine  and 

slumber,  filthy  passion,  immodest  pleasantry,  and  all 

the  plagues  that  dull  our  senses  are  put  down  and 

feel  the  discipline  of  restraint.     For  if  uncurbed  a 

man  abandons  himself  to  drinking  and  eating  and 

does  not  duly  control  his  body  by  fasting,  then  in  the 

consequence  the  spark  of  the  noble  soul  wastes  and 

:ools  off  by  reason  of  constant  indulgence,  and  the 

aiind  falls    heavily   asleep  in   the    sluggish   breast. 

Let  the  desires  of  our  bodies,  then,  be  bridled,  and 

:he  clean  flame  of  wisdom  shine  within  us :   so,  \^-ith 

udgment  awakened,  the  spirit  will  see  clearly,  it  will 

lave  freedom  and  more  room  to  breathe,  and  will 

)ray  better  to  the  Father  of  all  things.     It  was  by 

;uch  observance  that  EUas,  the  priest  of  old,  grew 

-trong,  when  he  was  a  sojourner  in  a  drv'  land,  and 

hey  say  that  thus  remote  and  separate  from  all  the 

loise  of  the  world  he  put  from  him  a  multitude  of 

iins  while  he  enjoyed  the  pure  silence  of  the  desert. 

But  afterwards  he  was  carried  away  by  horses  of 

ire   in   a   swift-flying   chariot   and  soared   into   the 

)reezes,  lest  from  the  near  contagion  of  filth  the  fell 

vorld  should  breathe  upon  a  man  at  peace,  whose 

"asts  approved  had  given  him  renown.     Moses,"  the 

aithful  messenger  of  the  awful  throne,  was  not  able 

"  Cf.  Exodns  xxxiv,  28. 

59 


PRUDENTIUS 

Moses  tremendi  fidus  interpres  throni 

potuit  videre,  quam  decern  recursibus 

quater  volutis  sol  peragrans  sidera 

omni  carentem  cerneret  substantia.  40 

victus  precanti  solus  in  lacrimis  fuit ; 
nam  flendo  pernox  inrigatmn  pulverem 
humi  madentis  ore  pressit  cernuo, 
donee  loquentis  voce  praestrictus  Dei 
expavit  ignem  non  ferendum  visibus.  45 

lohannis  huius  artis  baud  minus  potens 
Dei  perennis  praecucurrit  Filium, 
curvos  viarum  qui  retorsit  tramites, 
et  flexuosa  corrigens  dispendia 
dedit  sequendam  calle  recto  lineam.  50 

banc  obsequellam  praeparabat  nuntius 
mox  adfuturo  construens  iter  Deo, 
clivosa  planis,  confragosa  ut  lenibus 
converterentur,  neve  quidquam  devium 
inlapsa  terris  inveniret  Veritas.  55 

non  usitatis  ortus  hie  natalibus  : 
oblita  lactis  iam  vieto  in  pectore 
matris  tetendit  serus  infans  ubera, 
nee  ante  partu  de  senili  efFusus  est 
quam  praedicaret  virginem  plenam  Deo.  60 

post  in  patentes  ille  solitudines, 
amictus  hirtis  bestiarum  pellibus 
saetisve  tectus  hispida  et  lanugine, 
secessit,  horrens  inquinari  et  pollui 
contaminatis  oppidorum  moribus.  65 

illic  dicata  parcus  abstinentia 
potum  cibumque  vir  severae  industriae 
in  usque  serum  respuebat  vesper um, 
rarum  lucustis  et  favorum  agrestium 
liquore  pastum  corpori  suetus  dare.  70 


6o 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,   VII 

to  see  the  Lord  of  the  sevenfold  heavens  till  the  sun 
in  his  passage  through  the  constellations  had  rolled 
forty  times  on  his  returning  path  and  beheld  him 
lacking  all  sustenance.  WTiile  he  prayed,  his  only 
meat  was  in  his  tears ;  for  vdih  his  weeping  all 
night  long  he  watered  the  dust  and  the  ground  was 
wet  where  he  lay  with  face  bowed  low  on  it,  until  God 
spoke  and  His  voice  touched  him  and  he  trembled 
at  the  fire  his  eyes  could  not  bear.  John  was  no  less 
a  master  of  this  power,  he  who  went  before  the  Son 
of  the  everlasting  God,  who  made  straight  the  crooked 
paths  and  by  setting  right  the  twisting  ways  gave  a 
direct  course  to  follow.  This  service  the  messenger 
made  ready  beforehand,  making  a  way  for  God  who 
was  presently  to  come,  so  that  the  steep  places 
should  be  changed  to  level  and  the  rough  places  to 
smooth,  and  that  Truth  coming  to  the  earth  should 
find  no  devious  way.  No  common  birth  was  his : 
it  was  a  late  child  that  strained  nipples  that  had 
forgotten  their  milk,  on  his  mother's  shrunken 
breast ;  and  ere  he  was  brought  forth  from  her  aged 
womb  he  proclaimed  a  virgin  pregnant  with  God. 
Afterwards  he  -vWthdrew  into  the  wide  solitudes, 
wrapped  in  shaggy  skins  of  beasts  or  covered  "with 
rough  hair  and  coarse  wool,  dreading  defilement  and 
corruption  from  the  impure  Avays  of  towns.  There, 
Uving  sparely  with  devoted  abstinence,  in  his  un- 
remitting strictness  he  would  put  food  and  drink  from 
him  until  the  late  time  of  evening,  and  used  to  give 
his  body  sustenance  at  these  long  intervals  with 
locusts  and  the  honey  from  wild  honey-combs.     He 

6i 


PRUDENTIUS 

hortator  ille  primus  et  doctor  novae 
fuit  salutis.     nam  sacrato  in  flumine 
veterum  piatas  lavit  errorum  notas, 
sed  tincta  postquam  membra  defaecaverat, 
caelo  refulgens  influebat  Spiritus.  75 

hoc  ex  lavacro  labe  dempta  criminum 
ibant  renati,  non  secus  quam  si  rudis 
auri  recocta  vena  pulchrum  splendeat, 
micet  metalli  sive  lux  argentei 
sudum  polito  praenitens  purgamine.  80 

referre  prisci  stemma  nunc  ieiunii 
libet  fideli  proditum  volumine, 
ut  diruendae  civitatis  incolis 
fulmen  benigni  mansuefactum  Patris 
pie  repressis  ignibus  pepercerit.  85 

gens  insolenti  praepotens  iactantia 
pollebat  olim,  quam  fluentem  nequiter 
corrupta  vulgo  solverat  lascivia, 
et  inde  bruto  contumax  fastidio 
cultum  superni  neglegebat  numinis.  90 

ofFensa  tandem  iugis  indulgentiae 
censura  iustis  excitatur  motibus, 
dextram  perarmat  rompheali  incendio, 
nimbos  crepantes  et  fragosos  turbines 
vibrans  tonantum  nube  flammarum  quatit.       95 

sed  paenitendi  dum  datur  diecula, 
si  forte  vellent  inprobam  libidinem 
veteresque  nugas  condomare  ac  frangere, 
suspendit  ictum  terror  exorabilis, 
paulumque  dicta  substitit  sententia.  100 

lonam  prophetam  mitis  ultor  excitat, 
poenae  inminentis  iret  ut  praenuntius, 
sed  nosset  ille  qui  minacem  iudicem 
servare  malle  quam  ferire  ac  plectere, 


63 


THE   DAILY  ROUND,   VII 

\\iis  the  first  preacher  and  teacher  of  the  new  salva- 
tion, for  in  the  consecrated  stream  he  washed  clean 
the  marks  of  old  sins,  but  after  he  cleansed  the 
tainted  bodies  the  Spirit  flowed  shining  into  them 
from  heaven.  From  this  baptism,  the  stain  of  sin 
removed,  men  came  reborn,  shining  as  fair  as  does 
rough  gold  when  it  is  refined,  bright  as  the  glistening 
sheen  of  silver  ore  when  it  is  purified  and  polished. 
I  will  now  recount  the  history  of  a  fast  in  ancient 
times,  a  tale  made  kno^vn  to  us  by  the  faithful  Book, 
how  the  merciful  Father's  thunderbolt  was  appeased, 
its  fires  in  love  suppressed,  and  spared  the  inhabitants 
of  a  city  that  merited  destruction.  There  flourished 
once  a  mighty  and  arrogant  nation,  given  over  to 
evil  indulgence,  and  which  in  its  debased  wantonness 
had  in  the  mass  passed  all  restraint ;  wherefore  being 
stiff-necked  in  its  stupid  pride,  it  was  disregarding 
the  worship  of  God  on  high.  Justice  ever  merciful 
is  at  last  offended  and  aroused  in  righteous  wrath. 
It  arms  its  right  hand  ^^•ith  a  fiery  sword  and  brand- 
ishes rattling  storms  and  crashing  whirlwinds  in  a 
cloud  of  fire  and  thunder.  Yet  giving  them  a  brief 
:  space  for  repentance,  if  haply  they  might  be  "willing 
to  subdue  and  break  their  wicked  lust  and  long- 
'  continued  folUes,  the  awful  Judge,  who  is  yet  easily 
5  entreated,  suspends  the  blow,  the  doom  pronounced 
is  for  a  Httle  stayed.  The  merciful  Avenger  calls 
Jonah  the  prophet  to  go  and  proclaim  impending 
punishment ;  but  he,  knowing  that  the  Judge  who 
threatened    would    rather    save    than    strike    and 

63 


PRUDENTIUS 

tectam  latenter  vertit  in  Tharsos  fugam.         105 

celsam  paratis  pontibus  scandit  ratem, 
udo  revincta  fune  puppis  solvitur, 
itur  per  altum :   fit  procellosum  mare, 
turn  causa  tanti  quaeritur  periculi, 
sors  in  fugacem  missa  vatem  decidit.  110 

iussus  perire  solus  e  cunctis  reus, 
cuius  voluta  crimen  urna  expresserat, 
praeceps  rotatur  et  profundo  inmergitur : 
exceptus  inde  beluinis  faucibus, 
alvi  capacis  vivus  hauritur  specu.  115 

transmissa  raptim  praeda  cassos  dentium 
eludit  ictus  incruentam  transvolans 
inpune  linguam,  ne  retentam  mordicus 
offam  molares  dissecarent  uvidi, 
OS  omne  transit,  et  palatum  praeterit.  120^ 

ternis  dierum  ac  noctium  processibus 
mansit  ferino  devoratus  gutture  ; 
errabat  illic  per  latebras  viscerum, 
ventris  meandros  circumibat  tortiles 
anhelus  extis  intus  aestuantibus.  125 

intactus  exim  tertiae  noctis  vice 
monstri  vomentis  pellitur  singultibus  ; 
qua  murmuranti  fine  fluctus  frangitur 
salsosque  candens  spuma  tundit  pumices, 
ructatus  exit  seque  servatum  stupet.  130 

in  Ninevitas  se  coactus  percito 
gressu  reflectit,  quos  ut  increpaverat 
pudenda  censor  inputans  opprobria, 
"  inpendet  "  inquit  "  ira  summi  vindicis, 
urbemque  flamma  mox  cremabit,  credite."      135j 

apicem  deinde  ardui  montis  petit, 
visurus  inde  conglobatum  turbidae 
fumum  ruinae  cladis  et  dirae  struem, 


64 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,  VII 

punish,  flees  in  secret  and  turns  his  steps  privily  to 
Tarshish.  He  embarks  on  a  tall  ship  by  the  gangway 
standing  ready ;  the  wet  mooring-rope  cast  off,  the 
vessel  sails  and  they  make  their  way  over  the  deep. 
But  the  sea  grows  stormy,  and  then  search  is  made 
for  the  cause  of  the  great  peril,  and  the  lot  is  cast 
and  falls  on  the  fugitive  prophet.  Arraigned,  he 
alone  of  them  all,  and  condemned  to  die,  for  the 
turning  of  the  urn  had  made  his  guilt  manifest,  he 
is  hurled  headlong  and  plunged  in  the  deep,  caught 
then  in  a  monster's  jaws,  and  swallowed  up  aUve  in 
the  vault  of  its  great  belly.  Passing  swftly  over, 
the  prey  escapes  the  futile  stroke  of  the  teeth,  for 
he  flies  unhurt  over  the  tongue  -without  shedding  of 
blood,  so  that  the  wet  grinders  cannot  hold  the  morsel 
in  their  bite  and  break  it  in  pieces  ;  right  through  the 
mouth  he  passes,  and  beyond  the  palate.  WTiile  three 
days  and  nights  went  by  he  remained  engulfed  in  the 
beast's  maw,  wandering  there  in  the  darkness  of  its 
inward  parts,  round  and  round  the  tortuous  windings 
of  its  guts,  his  breath  choking  with  the  heat  of  the 
entrails.  From  thence,  when  the  third  night  comes 
round,  the  monster  retching  spews  him  out  un- 
harmed ;  where  the  wave  breaks  at  its  loud-sounding 
close  and  the  white  spray  beats  on  the  briny  rocks 
he  is  belched  out,  amazed  at  his  preservation.  Back 
to  Nineveh  perforce  he  turns  with  quickened  step, 
and  after  upbraiding  and  censuring  its  people,  laying 
their  shameful  misdeeds  to  their  charge,  he  cries : 
"  The  -wrath  of  the  great  Judge  hangs  over  you  and 
•will  presently  burn  your  city  with  fire,  believe  ye." 
Then  he  makes  for  the  peak  of  a  high  mountain,  to 
see  from  there  the  thick  smoke  arise  from  the  jumbled 
ruin,  and  the  city  in  a  heap  of  dire  destruction,  while 

65 

VOL.  I.  D 


PRUDENTIUS 

tectus  flagellis  multinodis  germinis, 

nato  et  repente  perfruens  umbraculo.  140 

sed  maesta  postquam  civitas  vulnus  novi 
hausit  doloris,  heu,  supremum  palpitat : 
cursant  per  ampla  congregatim  moenia 
plebs  et  senatus,  omnis  aetas  civium, 
pallens  iuventus,  eiulantes  feminae.  145 

placet  frementem  publicis  ieiuniis 
placare  Christum  ;   mos  edendi  spernitur, 
glaucos  amictus  induit  monilibus 
matrona  demptis,  proque  gemma  et  serico 
crinem  fluentem  sordidus  spargit  cinis.  150 

squalent  recincta  veste  pullati  patres, 
saetasque  plangens  turba  sumit  textiles, 
inpexa  villis  virgo  bestialibus 
nigrante  vultum  contegit  velamine, 
iacens  harenis  et  puer  provolvitur.  155 

rex  ipse  Coos  aestuantem  murices 
laenam  revulsa  dissipabat  fibula, 
gemmas  virentes  et  lapillos  sutiles 
insigne  frontis  exuebat  vinculum, 
turpi  capillos  inpeditujs  pulvere.  160 

nullus  bibendi,  nemo  vescendi  memor, 
ieiuna  mensas  pubis  omnis  liquerat : 
quin  et  negato  lacte  vagientium 
fletu  madescunt  parvulorum  cunulae, 
sucum  papillae  parca  nutrix  derogat.  165 

greges  et  ipsos  claudit  armentalium 
sollers  virorum  cura,  ne  vagum  pecus 
contingat  ore  rorulenta  gramina, 
potum  strepentis  neve  fontis  hauriat ; 
vacuis  querellae  personant  praesepibus.  170 

mollitus  his  et  talibus  brevem  Deus 
iram  refrenat  temperans  oraculum 


66 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,  VII 

he  shelters  under  the  shoots  of  a  plant  that  sprouts 
from  many  a  joint  and  enjoys  a  shade  that  of  a  sudden 
has  grown  up."  But  ah !  the  saddened  people,  pierced 
by  grief  not  kno^\^l  before,  is  in  the  agony  of  death. 
Commons  and  councillors,  citizens  of  every  age, 
young  men  %vith  pale  faces,  wailing  women,  rush  to 
and  fro  in  crowds  all  about  the  wide  city.  Resolved 
to  appease  the  angry  Christ  -with  pubUc  fasts,  they 
put  the  habit  of  eating  from  them;  the  matron, 
taking  off  her  necklaces,  dons  dark  vestures,  and 
instead  of  jewels  and  silk  foul  ashes  besprinkle  her 
flowing  hair.  The  fathers  wear  the  dark  robes  of 
mourning  all  ungirt,  the  common  crowd  in  lamentation 
put  on  coarse  haircloth,  the  maids,  with  hair  un- 
kempt and  shagg}'  like  a  beast's,  cover  their  faces 
with  black  veils,  the  children  lie  rolUng  in  the  sand. 
The  king  himself,  pulling  away  the  clasp,  tore  in 
pieces  his  mantle  that  had  the  glow  of  Coan  purple, 
put  off  his  bright  jewels,  his  band  of  precious 
stones,  the  emblem  that  clasped  his  brows,  and 
cluttered  his  hair  -s^ith  unsightly  dust.  None  had 
any  thought  of  drinking  or  of  eating ;  the  whole 
manhood  had  turned  from  the  table  to  fasting ;  nay, 
the  cradles  are  wet  with  the  tears  of  Uttle  ones  cry- 
ing because  milk  is  denied  them,  for  the  niggard 
nurse  \vithdraws  the  liquor  of  the  breast.  The  very 
flocks  the  herdsmen  take  shrewd  care  to  enclose,  lest 
roaming  at  large  the  cattle  put  their  lips  to  the  dewy 
grass  or  drink  a  draught  from  the  brawling  stream, 
and  the  sound  of  their  plaints  fills  the  foodless  stalls. 
Softened  by  these  and  the  like  acts,  God  restrains 
His  short-lived  anger  and  turns  propitious,  mitigating 

'  C/.  Jonah  iv,  5-6. 

67 


PRUDENTIUS 

prosper  sinistrum ;  prona  nam  dementia 

haud  difficulter  supplicem  mortalium 

solvit  reatum  fitque  fautrix  flentium.  175 

sed  cur  vetustae  gentis  exemplum  loquor, 
pridem  caducis  cum  gravatus  artubus 
lesus  dicato  corde  ieiunaverit, 
praenuncupatus  ore  qui  prophetico 
Emmanuel  est,  sive  "  nobiscum  Deus  "  ?         180 

qui  corpus  istud  molle  naturaliter, 
captumque  laxo  sub  voluptatum  iugo, 
virtutis  arta  lege  fecit  liberum, 
emancipator  servientis  plasmatis, 
regnantis  ante  victor  et  cupidinis.  185 

inhospitali  namque  secretus  loco 
quinis  diebus  octies  labentibus 
nullam  ciborum  vindicavit  gratiam, 
firmans  salubri  scilicet  ieiunio 
vas  adpetendis  inbecillum  gaudiis.  190 

miratus  hostis  posse  limum  tabidum 
tantum  laboris  sastinere  ac  perpeti 
explorat  arte  sciscitator  callida 
deusne  membris  sit  receptus  terreis, 
sed  increpata  fraude  post  tergum  ruit.  195 

hoc  nos  sequamur  quisque  nunc  pro  viribus, 
quod  consecrati  tu  magister  dogmatis 
tuis  dedisti,  Christe,  sectatoribus, 
ut,  cum  vorandi  vicerit  libidinem, 
late  triumphet  imperator  spiritus.  200 

hoc  est  quod  atri  livor  hostis  invidet, 
mundi  polique  quod  gubernator  probat, 
altaris  aram  quod  facit  placabilem,     ' 
quod  dormientis  excitat  cordis  fidem, 
quod  limat  aegram  pectoris  rubiginem.  205 

perfusa  non  sic  amne  flamma  extinguitur, 

68 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,  VII 

His  awful  sentence ;  for  His  ready  mercy  wilHngly 
cancels  the  guilt  of  men  when  they  humble  them- 
selves, and  shows  favour  to  their  tears.  But  why  do 
I  speak  of  the  example  of  an  ancient  race,  seeing 
that  Jesus,  long  since,  when  He  was  burdened  with 
a  mortal  body,  fasted  with  consecrated  heart,  He 
who  was  aforetime  by  the  mouth  of  the  prophet 
named  Emmanuel,  God  with  us  ?  This  body,  which 
is  by  nature  weak  and  a  prisoner  under  the  lawless 
t}Tanny  of  pleasures.  He  set  at  liberty'  by  the  strict 
law  of  virtue ;  He  gave  freedom  to  the  enslaved  flesh 
and  conquered  the  passion  that  held  sway  before. 
For,  li\-ing  remote  in  an  inhospitable  place,  while 
forty  days  passed  He  never  claimed  the  pleasant  taste 
of  food,  but  -with  wholesome  fasting  strengthened 
the  vessel  which  is  enfeebled  by  its  seeking  after 
joys.  The  enemy,  wondering  that  perishing  clay 
can  sustain  and  endure  such  effort,  tries  to  find  out 
by  cunning  artful  inquiry  whether  it  is  God  that  has 
been  received  in  an  earthly  body ;  but  his  trickery 
is  rebuked  and  he  flees  behind  Christ's  back.  Let 
us  now  follow,  each  according  to  his  strength,  this 
that  Thou,  O  Christ,  the  teacher  of  holy  doctrine, 
hast  given  to  Thy  followers,  that  the  spirit,  being  in 
command  and  having  overcome  the  lust  of  eating, 
may  triumph  over  all  the  field.  This  it  is  that  earns 
the  black  enemy's  malice  and  spite,  this  that  yvios 
the  approval  of  Him  who  rules  earth  and  heaven,  that 
makes  the  altar  of  sacrifice  propitious,  awakens 
faith  in  the  sleeping  heart,  and  clears  away  the  un- 
healthy bUght  from  our  breasts.     Not  so  surely  does 

69 


PRUDENTIUS 

nee  sic  ealente  sole  tabescunt  nives, 

ut  turbidarum  scabra  culparum  seges 

vanescit  almo  trita  sub  ieiunio, 

si  blanda  semper  misceatur  largitas.  210 

est  quippe  et  illud  grande  virtutis  genus, 
operire  nudos,  indigentes  pascere, 
opem  benignam  ferre  supplieantibus, 
unam  paremque  sortis  humanae  vicem 
inter  potentes  atque  egenos  ducere.  215 

satis  beatus  quisque  dextram  porrigit 
laudis  rapacem,  prodigam  pecuniae, 
cuius  sinistra  dulce  factum  nesciat : 
ilium  perennes  protinas  conplent  opes, 
ditatque  fructus  faenerantem  centiplex.  220 

VIII 

Hymnus  post  Ieiunium 

Christe,  servorum  regimen  tuorum, 
moUibus  qui  nos  moderans  habenis 
leniter  frenas,  facilique  saeptos 

lege  coerces, 
ipse  cum  portans  onus  inpeditum  •       5 

corporis  duros  tuleris  labores, 
maior  exemplis  famulos  remisso 

dogmate  palpas. 
nona  summissum  rotat  hora  solem, 
partibus  vixdum  tribus  evolutis,  10 

quarta  devexo  superest  in  axe 

portio  lucis. 
nos  brevis  voti  dape  vindicata 
solvimus  festum,  fruimurque  mensis 
adfatim  plenis,  quibus  inbuatur  15 

prona  voluptas. 


70 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,  VIII 

water  put  out  fire,  or  the  snows  melt  in  the  heat  of 
the  sun,  as  the  unclean  crop  of  rebellious  sins  vanishes 
under  the  cleansing  of  a  restoring  fast,  if  kindly 
Uberahty  be  ever  joined  with  it.  For  it  is  a  noble 
form  of  virtue  too,  to  clothe  the  naked,  feed  the 
needy,  give  kindly  aid  to  them  that  beg  for  it,  hold 
that  rich  and  poor  share  one  and  the  same  humanity. 
Blest  enough  the  man  who  holds  out  a  right  hand 
that  grasps  at  n^erit  but  is  lavish  of  money,  whose 
left  hand  knows  not  the  kind  deed :  him  everlasting 
wealth  straightway  satisfies,  and  profit  an  hundred- 
fold on  his  lending  makes  him  rich. 

VIII 

A  Hymn  After  Fasting 

Christ,  the  director  of  Thy  servants,  who  dost 
govern  us  with  light  rein  and  gentle  curb  and  dost 
hedge  and  restrain  us  with  an  easy  law,  since  Thou 
Thyself  whilst  bearing  the  cumbering  burden  of  the 
body  didst  endure  hardship,  Thy  example  makes  Thee 
greater,  and  Thy  hand  is  light  on  Thy  servants  and 
Thy  decree  is  mild.  The  ninth  hour  is  wheeling 
the  sun  on  his  downward  course,  scarce  yet  has  the 
daylight  three  parts  rolled  away,  and  the  fourth  still 
is  left  in  the  down-sloping  sky ;  we,  taking  our  meat, 
break  off  the  observance  of  our  short  vow  and  let 
eager  appetite  enjoy  its  first  taste  of  the  table's 

71 


PRUDENTIUS 

tantus  aeterni  favor  est  Magistri, 
doctor  indulgens  ita  nos  amico 
lactat  hortatu,  levis  obsequella  ut 

mulceat  artus.  20 

addit  et  ne  quis  velit  invenusto 
sordidus  cultu  lacerare  front  em, 
sed  decus  vultus  capitisque  pexum 

comat  honorem. 
"  terge  ieiunans  "  ait  "  omne  corpus,  25 

neve  subducto  faciem  rubore 
luteus  tinguat  color  aut  notetur 

pallor  in  ore." 
rectius  laeto  tegimus  pudore 
quidquid  ad  cultum  Patris  exhibemus ;  30 

cernit  occultum  Deus  et  latentem 

munere  donat. 
ille  ovem  morbo  residem  gregique 
perditam  sano,  male  dissipantem 
vellus  adfixis  vepribus  per  hirtae  35 

devia  silvae 
inpiger  pastor  revocat  lupisque 
gestat  exclusis  umeros  gravatus, 
inde  purgatam  revehens  aprico 

reddit  ovili,  40 

reddit  et  pratis  viridique  campo, 
vibrat  inpexis  ubi  nulla  lappis 
spina,  nee  germen  sudibus  perarmat 

carduus  horrens, 
sed  frequens  palmis  nemus,  et  reflexa  45 

vernat  herbarum  coma,  turn  perennis 
gurgitem  vivis  vitreum  fluentis 

laurus  obumbrat. 
hisce  pro  donis  tibi,  fide  pastor, 
servitus  quaenam  poterit  rependi  ?  50 


72 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,   Mil 

abundant  plenty.  Such  favour  does  our  eternal 
Teacher  show  us,  with  exhortation  so  friendly  does 
our  kind  Instructor  draw  us  on,  that  the  light 
obedience  is  comfortable  to  the  flesh.  He  com- 
mands, too,  that  none  clothe  himself  in  dismal,  un- 
tidy garb  and  disfigure  his  brows,  but  that  we  comb 
and  dress  our  hair,  which  is  the  ornament  of  our 
countenance,  the  glory  of  our  head."  "  Cleanse  thy 
whole  body,"  He  saith,  "  when  thou  fastest ;  and  let 
not  thy  cheeks  lose  their  redness  and  wear  a  yellow 
hue,  nor  a  pale  cast  be  marked  on  thy  face."  Better 
is  it  to  cover  A\ith  a  cheerful  modesty  anything  that 
we  do  for  the  honour  of  the  Father :  God  sees  that 
which  is  in  secret,  and  rewards  him  who  acts  by 
stealth.  WTien  a  sheep  lags  behind  because  it  is 
sick,  and  is  lost  from  the  healthy  flock,  wasting  its 
wool  by  catching  on  thorny  bushes  along  un- 
frequented ways  in  the  rough  woodland,  He  as  a 
tireless  Shepherd  calls  it  again,  and  driving  oiF  the 
wolves,  takes  the  load  on  His  shoulders  and  carries  it, 
and  so  brings  it  home  cleansed  and  restores  it  to  the 
sunny  fold ;  restores  it  to  the  meadows  too,  and  the 
green  field,  where  no  rough,  prickly  burs  quiver  and 
no  bristUng  thistle  arms  its  shoots  with  spikes,  but 
the  grove  is  filled  with  pahns,  the  bending  leaves  of 
grass  flourish,  and  the  glassy  stream  of  nmning  water 
is  shaded  with  evergreen  bay.  For  these  gifts,  O 
faithful  Shepherd,  what  service  can  ever  be  repaid 

•  C/.  Matthew  vi,  lft-18. 

73 
d2 


PRUDENTIUS 

nulla  conpensant  pretium  salutis 

vota  precantum. 
quamlibet  spreto  sine  more  pastu 
sponte  confectos  tenuemus  artus 
teque  contemptis  epulis  rogemns  55 

nocte  dieque, 
vincitur  semper  minor  obsequentum 
cura  nee  munus  genitoris  aequat, 
frangit  et  cratem  luteam  laboris 

grandior  usus.  60 

ergo  ne  limum  fragilem  solutae 
deserant  vires  et  aquosus  albis 
umor  in  venis  dominetur  aegrum 

corpus  enervans, 
laxus  ac  liber  modus  abstinendi  65 

ponitur  cunctis,  neque  nos  severus 
terror  inpellit ;   sua  quemque  cogit 

velle  potestas. 
sufficit,  quidquid  facias,  vocato 
numinis  nutu  prius  inchoare,  70 

sive  tu  mensam  renuas  cibumve 

sumere  temptes. 
adnuit  dexter  Deus  et  secundo 
prosperat  vultu,  velut  hoc  salubre 
fidimus  nobis  fore,  quod  dicatas  75 

carpimus  escas. 
sit  bonum,  supplex  precor,  et  medellam 
conferat  membris  animumque  pascat 
sparsus  in  venas  cibus  obsecrantum 

Cliristicolarum. 


74 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,   VIII 

to  Thee  ?  No  vows  that  we  can  offer  in  our  prayers 
can  make  up  for  the  price  of  salvation.  Though  we 
should  turn  utterly  from  food,  and  of  our  o%vn  will 
weaken  and  mortify  our  bodies,  and  disdaining  the 
table  pray  to  Thee  night  and  day,  yet  the  zeal  with 
which  we  ser\-e  Thee  is  ever  inferior  and  over-matched 
and  cannot  equal  the  Father's  gift,  and  our  frame  of 
clay  cannot  bear  to  practise  endurance  overmuch. 
Therefore,  lest  our  strength  be  undone  and  desert 
the  frail  clay,  and  a  watery  fluid  prevail  in  whitened 
veins,  enfeebling  and  unmanning  the  body,  an  easy 
and  free  measure  of  abstinence  is  laid  on  all ;  no  stem 
fear  drives  us ;  it  is  each  one's  o^vn  power  that  con- 
strains him  to  be  willing.  Sufficient  is  it,  whatever 
a  man  does,  to  set  about  it  after  first  appealing  for 
God's  approval,  whether  he  refuse  the  table  or  put 
forth  his  hand  to  take  food.  God  is  propitious  and 
with  favourable  countenance  gives  consent  and 
blessing ;  as  now  we  trust  it  yriW  be  healthful  for  us 
that  we  eat  of  these  dedicated  viands.  Humbly  I 
ask  that  our  act  be  good  for  us  and  that  our  food, 
spreading  into  the  veins,  may  bring  healing  to  the 
body  and  nourish  the  spirit  of  Christ's  worshippers 
who  offer  this  prayer. 


75 


PRUDENTIUS 

IX 

Hymnus  omnis  Horae 

Da,  puer,  plectrum,  choreis  ut  canam  fidelibus 
dulce  carmen  et  melodum,  gesta  Christi  insignia, 
hunc  Camena  nostra  solum  pangat,  hunc  laudet 
lyra. 

Christus   est,  quem  rex  sacerdos  adfuturum 
protinus 
infulatus  concinebat  voce,  chorda  et  tympano,  5 

spiritum  caelo  influentem  per  medullas  hauriens. 

facta  nos  et  iam  probata  pangimus  miracula. 
testis  est  orbis,  nee  ipsa  terra  quod  vidit  negat, 
comminus  Deum  docendis  proditum  mortalibus. 

corde  natus  ^  ex  parentis  ante  mundi  exordium,  10 
alpha  et  fi  cognominatus,  ipse  fons  et  clausula 
omnium  quae  sunt,  fuerunt,  quaeque  post  futura 
sunt. 

ipse  iussit,  et  creata,  dixit  ipse,  et  facta  sunt 
terra,  caelum,  fossa  ponti,  trina  rerum  machina, 
quaeque  in  his  vigent  sub  alto  solis  et  lunae  globo.  15 

corporis  formam  caduci,  membra  morti  obnoxia 
induit,  ne  gens  periret  primoplasti  ex  germine, 
merserat  quem  ^  lex  profundo  noxialis  Tartaro. 

o  beatus  ortus  ille,  virgo  cum  puerpera 
edidit  nostram  salutem  feta  Sancto  Spiritu,  20 

et  puer  redemptor  orbis  os  sacratum  protulit. 

psallat  altitudo  caeli,  psallite  omnes  angeli, 
quidquid  est  virtutis  usquam  psallat  in  laudem 

Deij 
nulla  linguarum  silescat,  vox  et  omnis  consonet. 

ecce,  quem  vates  vetustis  concinebant  saeculis,     25 

*  fu8us  in  the  Ambroaian  MS.  (B). 
76 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,   IX 

IX 

A  Hymn  for  Every  Hour 

Give  me  my  quill,  page,  that  in  loyal  trochees  I 
may  sing  a  sweet,  tuneful  song  of  the  glorious  deeds 
of  Christ.  He  alone  shall  be  my  Muse's  theme,  Him 
alone  my  lyre  shall  praise.  Christ  it  is  whose  speedy 
coming  the  priest-king  in  his  priestly  vestment  sang 
with  sound  of  voice  and  string  and  tambour,  drinking 
deep  the  inspiration  that  flowed  on  him  from  heaven. 
Of  wonders  done  and  proved  we  sing ;  the  world  is 
witness,  the  verj-  earth  denies  not  that  which  it  has 
seen,  God  made  manifest  to  men  to  teach  them  in 
His  own  person.  Born  of  the  Father's  love  before 
the  world's  beginning,  called  Alpha  and  Omega,  He 
is  both  source  and  end  of  all  things  that  are  or  have 
been  or  hereafter  shall  be.  He  gave  the  word  and 
they  were  created,  He  spoke  and  they  were  made — 
earth,  heavens,  the  deep  sea,  the  threefold  fabric  of 
the  world,  and  all  that  lives  in  them  under  the  lofty 
globes  of  sun  and  moon.  He  put  on  the  shape  of 
mortal  body,  members  doomed  to  die,  so  that  the 
race  that  sprang  from  the  first  man's  stock  should  not 
perish  though  the  law  of  sin  had  plunged  him  deep 
in  hell.  O  blessed  birth,  when  a  virgin  in  labour, 
having  conceived  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  brought  forth 
our  salvation,  and  the  child  who  is  the  world's 
Redeemer  revealed  His  sacred  face !  Let  high 
heaven  sing,  sing  all  ye  angels,  let  every  power  in 
every  place  sing  to  the  praise  of  God,  let  no  tongue 
keep  silence,  and  every  voice  sound  in  concert.  Lo, 
He  whom  seers  in  ancient  times  foretold,  and  the 

*  quani  some  MSS.  of  clasa  B. 

77 


PRUDENTIUS 

quern  prophetarum  fideles  paginae  spoponderant, 
emicat  promissus  olim  :   cuncta  conlaudent  eum. 

cantharis  infusa  lympha  fit  Falernuxn  nobile, 
nuntiat  vinum  minister  esse  promptum  ex  hydria, 
ipse  rex  sapore  tinctis  obstupescit  poculis.  30 

"  membra  morbis  ulcerosa,  viscerum  putredines 
mando    ut    abluantur  "    inquit :   fit    ratum    quod 

iusserat ; 
turgidam  cutem  repurgant  vulnerum  piamina. 

tu  perennibus  tenebris  iam  sepulta  lumina 
inlinis  limo  salubri  sacri  et  oris  nectare :  35 

mox  apertis  hac  medella  lux  reducta  est  orbibus. 

increpas  ventum  furentem  quod  procellis  tristibus 
vertat  aequor  fundo  ab  imo,  vexet  et  vagam  ratem  : 
ille  iussis  obsecundat,  mitis  unda  sternitur. 

extimum  vestis  sacratae  furtim  mulier  attigit :     40 
protinus  salus  secuta  est,  ora  pallor  deserit, 
sistitur  rivus  cruore  qui  fluebat  perpeti. 

exitu  dulcis  iuventae  raptum  ephebum  viderat, 
orba  quern  mater  supremis  funerabat  fletibus ; 
"  surge "    dixit :    ille    surgit,    matri    et    adstans 

redditur.  45 

sole  iam  quarto  carentem,  iam  sepulcro  abscon- 
ditum 
Lazarum  iubet  vigere  reddito  spiramine  : 
foetidum  iecur  reductus  rursus  intrat  halitus. 

ambulat     per     stagna    ponti,     summa     calcat 
fluctuum : 
mobilis  liquor  profundi  pendulam  praestat  viam,     50 
nee  fatiscit  unda  Sanctis  pressa  sub  vestigiis. 

suetus  antro  bustuali  sub  catenis  frendere, 
mentis  inpos,  efferatis  percitus  furoribus 
prosilit  ruitque  supplex,  Christum  adesse  ut  sen- 
serat. 

78 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,   IX 

faithful  pages  of  the  prophets  pledged,  comes  forth, 
promised  of  old :  let  all  things  join  in  praise  of  Him. 
Water  poured  into  tankards  is  changed  to  noble 
wine  ;  the  servant  tells  how  the  >\'ine  was  drawn  from 
the  water-pot,  and  the  very  master  of  the  feast  is 
amazed  at  the  taste  that  flavours  the  cups.  "  Bodies 
diseased  and  ulcerous,  festering  flesh  I  command," 
saith  He,  "  to  be  washed  ";  His  bidding  is  done,  and 
the  cleansing  of  the  wounds  makes  the  swollen  skin 
pure.  Eyes  buried  in  perpetual  darkness  Thou  dost 
anoint  with  heahng  clay  and  the  nectar  of  Thy  sacred 
mouth,  and  presently  by  this  cure  their  orbs  are 
opened  and  hght  restored  to  them.  Thou  dost 
rebuke  the  raging  wind  for  upturning  the  sea  from 
its  veiA'  depths  with  fearful  blasts,  and  tossing  the 
ship  without  rest ;  it  obeys  Thy  bidding  and  the 
wave  sinks  calmed.  A  woman  has  stealthily  touched 
the  edge  of  Thy  holy  garment,  and  straightway 
heaUng  has  come ;  the  pallor  leaves  her  cheek,  the 
ever-flowing  stream  of  blood  is  stayed.  He  saw 
a  young  man  cut  off  just  at  the  passing  of  sweet 
youth,  the  bereaved  mother  bearing  him  to  the  grave 
with  tears  of  farewell:  "  Arise,"  He  said;  and  he 
rises  and  stands  restored  by  his  mother's  side.  To 
Lazarus,  now  four  days  shut  sunless  in  the  tomb, 
He  gives  again  the  power  to  breathe  and  bids  him 
live,  and  the  breath  restored  enters  again  into  the 
decaying  flesh.  He  walks  over  the  waters  of  the  sea, 
treading  on  the  surface  of  the  flood,  and  the  restless 
deep  holds  up  a  pathway,  the  wave  sinks  not  under 
the  holy  footsteps.  One  that  was  wont  to  dwell  in 
chains  in  a  tomb-cavern,  gnashing  his  teeth,  out  of 
his  mind,  driven  by  Mild  frenzies,  leaps  forth  and 
flings  himself  on  his  knees  when  he  sees  that  Christ 

79 


PRUDENTIUS 

pulsa  pestis  lubricorum  milleformis  daemonum     55 
corripit  gregis  suilli  sordida  spurcamina, 
seque  nigris  mergit  undis  et  pecus  lymphaticum. 

ferte  qualis  ter  quaternis  ferculorum  fragmina ; 
adfatim  referta  iam  sunt  adcubantum  milia 
quinque  panibus  peresis  et  gemellis  piscibus.  60 

tu  cibus  panisque  noster,  tu  perennis  suavitas ; 
nescit  esurire  in  aevum  qui  tuam  sumit  dapem, 
nee  lacunam  ventris  inplet,  sed  fovet  vitalia. 

clausus  aurium  meatus  et  sonorum  nescius 
purgat    ad    praecepta    Christi    crassa    quaeque 

obstacula,  65 

vocibus  capax  fruendis  ac  susurris  pervius. 

omnis  aegritudo  cedit,  languor  omnis  pellitur, 
lingua  fatur,  quam  veterna  vinxerant  silentia, 
gestat  et  suum  per  urbem  laetus  aeger  lectulum. 

quin  et  ipsum,  ne  salutis  inferi  expertes  forent,    70 
Tartarum  benignus  intrat ;   fracta  cedit  ianua, 
vectibus  cadit  revulsis  cardo  dissolubilis,^ 

ilia  prompta  ad  inruentes,  ad  revertentes  tenax, 
obice  extrorsum  recluso  ^  porta  reddit  mortuos, 
lege  versa,  et  limen  atrum  iam  recalcandum  patet.  75 

sed  Deus  dum  luce  fulva  mortis  antra  inluminat, 
dum  stupentibus  tenebris  candidum  praestat  diem, 
tristia  squalentis  aethrae  palluerunt  sidera. 

sol  refugit  et  lugubri  sordidus  ferrugine 
igneum  reliquit  axem  seque  maerens  abdidit ;        80 
fertur  horruisse  mundus  noctis  aeternae  chaos. 

^  indissolubilis  in  some  MSS.  of  both  classes, 
8o 


THE   DAILY  ROUND,   IX 

is  nigh :  driven  out,  the  thousand-formed  plague  of 
treacherous  devils  seizes  upon  an  unclean,  filthy 
herd  of  s\\ine  and  plunges  itself  and  the  maddened 
beasts  together  in  the  black  waters.  Bring  ye  in 
baskets  twelve  the  fragments  left  from  the  feast ; 
the  guests  in  their  thousands  are  now  amply  filled 
with  the  eating  of  five  loaves  of  bread  and  a  pair  of 
fishes.  Thou  art  our  meat  and  our  bread,  Thou  our 
sweet  savour  that  never  fails ;  he  can  never  hunger 
any  more  who  partakes  of  Thy  banquet,  not  filUng 
a  void  in  his  belly  but  refreshing  that  by  which  he 
truly  lives.  The  closed  avenue  of  the  ears,  that 
knows  no  sound,  clears  away  at  Christ's  bidding  all 
its  thick  obstructions  and  gains  the  power  to  enjoy 
voices  and  give  passage  to  whispers.  Every  sickness 
yields,  every  weakness  is  banished,  the  tongue  speaks 
that  had  been  tied  in  torpid  silence,  and  the  sick  man 
carries  his  bed  rejoicing  through  the  city.  Yea,  lest 
those  below  should  have  no  part  in  salvation,  in  His 
goodness  He  enters  Tartarus.  The  door  is  forced  and 
yields  before  Him;  the  bolts  are  torn  away,  do^^'n 
falls  the  pivot  broken ;  that  gate  so  ready  to  receive 
the  inrush,  so  unyielding  in  face  of  those  that  would 
return,  is  unbarred  and  gives  back  the  dead ;  the 
law  is  reversed,  and  the  black  doorway  stands  open 
to  be  retrodden.  But  while  God  with  golden  light 
was  illumining  the  vaults  of  death,  giving  bright  day 
to  the  astounded  night,  the  sky  was  darkened  and 
the  stars  dimmed  in  sadness ;  the  sun  fled,  clad  in 
the  gloom  of  mourning,  from  the  fier}-  heavens,  and 
in  sorrow  hid  himself  away.  'Tis  said  the  world 
shuddered  in  fear  of  the  darkness  of  eternal  night. 

*  revulso  A,  reculso  B  [Bergman). 

8i 


PRUDENTIUS 

solve    vocem,    mens    sonora,    solve    linguam 
mobilem, 
die  tropaeum  passionis,  die  triumphalem  crucem, 
pange  vexillum  notatis  quod  refulget  frontibus. 

o  novum  caede  stupenda  vulneris  miraculum  !       85 
hinc  cruoris  fluxit  unda,  lympha  parte  ex  altera ; 
lympha  nempe  dat  lavacrimi,  txun  corona  ex  san- 
guine est. 

vidit  anguis  inmolatam  corporis  sacri  hostiam, 
vidit,  et  fellis  perusti  mox  venenum  perdidit, 
saucius  dolore  multo,  coUa  fractus  sibila.^  90 

quid  tibi,  profane  serpens,  profuit  rebus  novis 
plasma  primum  perculisse  versipelli  hortamine  ?  ^ 
diluit  culpam  recepto  forma  mortalis  Deo. 

ad  brevem  se  mortis  usum  dux  sahxtis  dedidit, 
mortuos  olim  sepultos  ut  redire  insuesceret,  95 

dissolutis  pristinorum  vinculis  peccaminum. 

tunc  patres  sanctique  multi  conditorem  praevium 
iam  revertentem  secuti  tertio  demum  die 
carnis  indumenta  sumunt,  eque  bustis  prodeunt. 

cerneres  coire  membra  de  favillis  aridis,  100 

frigidum  venis  resumptis  pulverem  tepescere, 
ossa,  nervos,  et  medullas  glutino  cutis  tegi. 

post,  ut  occasum  resolvit  vitae  et  hominem 
reddidit, 
arduum  tribunal  alti  victor  ascendit  Patris, 
inclytam  caelo  reportans  passionis  gloriam.  105 

macte  iudex  mortuorum,  macte  rex  viventium, 
dexter  in  parentis  arce  qui  cluis  virtutibus, 
omnium  venturus  inde  iustus  ultor  criminum. 

^  So  the  two  oldest  MSS.  A  and  B;  c/.  Virgil,  Geo.  Ill, 
421,  Aen.  V,  277.  Most  of  the  others  iised  by  Bergman  have 
sibilat. 

83 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,   IX 

Release  thy  voice,  my  tuneful  heart,  release  thy 
nimble  tongue.  Tell  of  the  victory  of  the  passion, 
tell  of  the  triumphant  cross,  sing  of  the  glittering 
ensign  marked  upon  our  brows.  How  strange  the 
marvel  of  the  wound  in  His  amazing  death !  Here 
flowed  a  stream  of  blood,  there  water:  water  gives 
washing,  and  the  crown  is  won  with  blood.  The 
serpent  saw  the  sacred  body  offered  in  sacrifice,  saw, 
and  straightway  lost  the  venom  of  his  inflamed  gall ; 
smitten  he  was  with  sore  distress,  his  hissing  throat 
shattered.  What  has  it  booted  thee,  thou  wicked 
serpent,  when  the  world  was  new,  to  have  brought  the 
first-created  man  to  ruin  ^^•ith  thy  crafty  incitement  ? 
The  mortal  frame  has  washed  its  guilt  away  by  re- 
ceiving God.  The  leader  of  our  salvation  gave  Himself 
up  to  a  short  experience  of  death,  that  He  might  teach 
the  dead  long  buried  to  return,  by  breaking  the  bonds 
of  their  former  sins.  Then  many  a  patriarch  and 
saint,  following  their  creator's  lead  as  He  now  re- 
turned on  the  third  day,  put  on  the  garment  of  flesh 
and  came  forth  from  their  tombs.  There  were  the 
limbs  assembling  out  of  the  dry  ashes,  the  cold  dust 
taking  veins  again  and  growing  warm,  the  bones  and 
sinews  and  innermost  parts  being  covered  with 
binding  skin.  Then,  when  He  had  annulled  death  and 
restored  man  to  life,  He  ascended  in  victory  the  lofty 
judgment-seat  of  the  Father  on  high,  carrying  back 
to  heaven  the  illustrious  glory  of  His  passion.  Glory 
be  to  Thee,  judge  of  the  dead  and  king  of  the  living, 
who  on  Thy  Father's  throne  at  His  right  hand  art 
renowned  for  Thy  merits,  and  shalt  come  from  thence 
to  be  the  righteous  avenger  of  all  sins.     Thee  let 

*  astutia  A  {Bergman), 

83 


PRUDENTIUS 

te  senes  et  te  iuventus,  parvulorum  te  chorus, 
turba  matrum  virginumque,  simplices  puellulae,     110 
voce  Concordes  pudicis  perstrepant  concentibus. 

fluminum  lapsus  et  undae,  litorum  crepidines, 
imber,  aestus,  nix,  pruina,  silva  et  aura,  nox,  dies 
omnibus  te  concelebrent  saeculorum  saecidis. 

X 

Hymnus  circa  exequias  Defuncti 

Deus,  ignee  fons  animarum, 
duo  qui  socians  elementa, 
vivum  simul  ac  moribundum, 
hominem.  Pater,  effigiasti, 

tua  sunt,  tua,  rector,  utraque,  5 

tibi  copula  iungitur  horum, 
tibi  dum  vegetata  cohaerent 
et  spiritus  et  caro  servit. 

rescissa  ^  sed  ista  seorsum 
solvunt  hominem  perimuntque  ;  10 

humus  excipit  arida  corpus, 
animae  rapit  aura  liquorem  ; 

quia  cuncta  creata  necesse  est 

^  In  the  oldest  MS.  A  {followed  by  Bergman)  lines  9-16  are 
as  follows  : 

resoluta  sed  ista  seorsum 
proprios  revocantur  in  ortus ; 
petit  halitus  aera  fervens, 
humus  excipit  arida  corpus. 

sic  cuncta  creata  necesse  est 
obitum  tolerare  supremum, 
ut  semina  dissociata 
sibi  sumat  origo  resorbens. 

Some  other  MSS.  have  both  versions,  or  the  A  version,  in  whole 
or  part,  added  in  the  margin. 

84 


11 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,  X 

old  men  and  young,  Thee  the  choir  of  little  children, 
the  company  of  mothers  and  maidens  and  artless  girls 
praise  with  loud,  harmonious  voice  in  pure  strains 
together.  Let  the  ghding  waters  of  the  rivers,  the 
shores  of  the  seas,  rain,  heat,  snow,  frost,  woodland 
and  wind,  night  and  day  unite  to  extol  Thee  for  ever 
and  ever. 


A  Hymx  o.v  the  Burial  of  the  Dead 

God,  the  burning  source  of  spirits,  who,  by  uniting 
two  elements,  one  h\'ing  and  one  dying,  together, 
didst  in  Thy  Fatherhood  create  man,  Thine,  O  Ruler, 
Thine  are  both ;  it  is  for  Thee  the  bond  is  drawn 
between  them ;  Thee,  while  they  cleave  together  in 
quickening  Ufe,  both  soul  and  flesh  ser\-e.  But " 
their  sundering  apart  is  the  dissolution  and  the  end 
of  man :  the  drj'  earth  receives  his  body,  the  breath 
of  air  carries  off  the  pure  spirit ;  for  all  that  is  created 

"  Lines  9-16  according  to  the  text  of  ^  :  "  But  when  they 
are  disjoined  one  from  the  other  they  are  called  back  each 
to  its  source;  the  glowing  spirit  seeks  the  heavens,  the  dry 
earth  receives  the  body.  All  that  is  created  must  needs  suffer 
death  at  the  end  in  such  wise  that  the  elements  are  parted 
and  their  original  draws  them  back  into  itself."  It  is  plausibly 
suggested  that  this  was  recast  because  it  savours  too  much 
of  pagan  philosophies.  Though  the  text  followed  above  is 
preserved  in  much  later  MSS.  (the  Ambrosian  7th  century 
MS.  fails  us  here),  it  does  not  read  like  the  work  of  a  late 
interpolator,  and  it  probably  represents  a  revision  by  Pru- 
dentius  himself. 

85 


PRUDENTIUS 

labefacta  senescere  tandem, 

conpactaque  dissociari,  15 

et  dissona  texta  retexi. 

hanc  tu,  Deus  optime,  mortem 
famulis  abolere  paratus, 
iter  inviolabile  monstras, 
quo  perdita  membra  resurgant,  20 

ut,  dum  generosa  caducis, 
ceu  carcere  clausa,  ligantur, 
pars  ilia  potentior  extet, 
quae  germen  ab  aethere  traxit. 

si  terrea  forte  voluntas  25 

luteum  sapit  et  grave  captat, 
animus  quoque  pondere  victus 
sequitur  sua  membra  deorsum. 

at  si  generis  memor  ignis 
contagia  pigra  recuset,  30 

vehit  hospita  viscera  secum, 
pariterque  reportat  ad  astra. 

nam  quod  requiescere  corpus 
vacuum  sine  mente  videmus, 
spatium  breve  restat,  ut  alti  35 

repetat  collegia  sensus. 

venient  cito  saecula,  cum  iam 
socius  calor  ossa  revisat 
animataque  sanguine  vivo 
habitacula  pristina  gestet.  40 

quae  pigra  cadavera  pridem 
tumulis  putrefacta  iacebant, 
volucres  rapientur  in  auras, 
animas  comitata  priores. 

hinc  maxima  cura  sepulcris  45 

inpenditur,  hinc  resolutos 
honor  ultimus  accipit  artus 


86 


THE  DAILY   ROUND,  X 

must  needs  at  last  grow  weak  and  waste  away,  all 
that  is  joined  together  be  separated,  every  fabric  of 
contrary  parts  be  undone.  This  death,  O  good  God, 
Thou  art  ready  to  do  away  for  Thy  ser\-ants,  and  dost 
show  them  an  indestructible  path  whereby  bodies 
that  have  perished  shall  rise  again,  that  so  long  as 
the  noble  is  bound  up  AWth  the  mortal,  as  it  were 
imprisoned,  that  part  may  prove  the  stronger  which 
has  drawn  its  source  from  heaven.  If  haply  the 
earthly  longing  savours  the  mire  and  seeks  after  that 
which  Ls  gross,  the  spirit  too  is  overcome  by  the  weight 
and  follows  its  bodily  members  downwards;  but 
should  the  fire,  remembering  its  origin,  reject  the 
nimibing  contagion,  it  carries  with  it  the  flesh  with 
which  it  has  sojourned,  and  takes  it,  too,  home  to 
the  stars.  For  whereas  we  see  the  body  lying  at  rest 
bereft  of  the  spirit,  there  remains  but  a  short  time 
ere  it  seek  again  its  union  with  the  soul  on  high. 
Soon  will  come  the  time  when  the  warmth  that  bore 
them  company  shall  return  to  the  bones,  and  wear 
again  its  old  dwelling  quickened  \vith  living  blood. 
Bodies  that  long  lay  dead  and  still  and  mouldering 
in  their  tombs  will  be  carried  into  the  flying 
breezes  in  company  with  their  former  souls.  This  is 
why  we  spend  such  great  care  on  graves,  this  is  why 
the  last  honour  awaits  the  lifeless  frame  and  the 

87 


/'^' 


PRUDENTIUS 

et  funeris  ambitus  ornat, 

candore  nitentia  claro 
praetendere  lintea  mos  est,  50 

aspersaque  myrrha  Sabaeo 
corpus  medicamine  servat. 

quidnam  sibi  saxa  cavata, 
quid  pulchra  volant  monumenta, 
nisi  quod  res  creditur  illis  55 

non  mortua,  sed  data  somno  ? 

hoc  provida  Christicolarum 
pietas  studet,  utpote  credens 
fore  protinus  omnia  viva 
quae  nunc  gelidus  sopor  urget.  60 

qui  iacta  cadavera  passim 
miserans  tegit  aggere  terrae, 
opus  exhibet  ille  benignum 
Christo  pius  omnipotenti, 

quia  lex  eadem  monet  omnes  65 

gemitum  dare  sorte  sub  una, 
cognataque  funera  nobis 
aliena  in  morte  dolere. 

sancti  sator  ille  Tobiae, 
sacer  ac  venerabilis  heros,  70 

dapibus  iam  rite  paratis 
ius  praetulit  exequiarum. 

iam  stantibus  ille  ministris 
cyathos  et  fercula  liquit, 
studioque  accinctus  humandi  75 

fleto  dedit  ossa  sepulcro. 

veniunt  mox  praemia  caelo, 
pretiumque  rependitur  ingens  ;  J 

nam  lumina  nescia  solis 
deus  inlita  felle  serenat.  80 

iam  tunc  docuit  Pater  orbis 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,  X 

funeral  procession  graces  it,  why  it  is  our  custom  to 
spread  over  it  linen  cloths  of  gleaming  whiteness, 
and  sprinkled  myrrh  with  its  Sabaean  drug  preserves 
the  body.  WTiat  mean  the  chambered  rocks,  the 
noble  monuments,  but  that  something  is  entrusted 
to  them  which  is  not  dead  but  given  up  to  sleep? 
This  earnest  care  the  provident  piety  of  Christ's 
followers  takes  because  they  believe  that  all  that 
are  now  sunk  in  cold  slmnber  will  presently  be  alive. 
He  who  finds  bodies  lying  unheeded  and  in  pity 
covers  them  with  a  mound  of  earth  "  offers  in  love 
a  work  of  kindliness  to  Christ  the  all-powerful ; 
for  the  same  law  bids  us  all  mourn  as  under  a  common 
lot,  and  in  a  stranger's  death  to  grieve  for  the  loss 
of  our  own  kin.  The  father  of  saintly  Tobias,*  a 
holy  and  reverend  worthy,  though  his  meal  was  in 
readiness,  gave  preference  over  it  to  the  claims  of 
burial.  Though  his  servants  stood  ready  in  their 
places,  he  left  cups  and  dishes  behind,  and  with  all 
his  mind  on  the  interment,  laid  the  bones  in  the  grave 
with  tears.  Presently  comes  his  reward  from  heaven, 
and  he  is  requited  with  a  great  price ;  for  when  his 
eyes,  which  knew  not  the  sun,  have  been  smeared 
with  gall  God  enlightens  them.  Even  then  the 
Father  of  the  world  taught  how  sharp  and  bitter  is 

•  Cf.  Tobit  i,  18-19.  »  Tobit  n. 

89 


j^' 


PRUDENTIUS 

quam  sit  rationis  egenis 
mordax  et  amara  medella, 
cum  lux  animum  nova  vexat. 

docuit  quoque  non  prius  ullum  85 

caelestia  cernere  regna 
quam  nocte  et  vulnere  tristi 
toleraverit  aspera  mundi. 

mors  ipsa  beatior  inde  est, 
quod  per  cruciamina  leti  90 

via  panditur  ardua  iustis, 
et  ad  astra  doloribus  itur. 

sic  corpora  mortificata 
redeunt  melioribus  annis, 
nee  post  obitum  recalescens  95 

conpago  fatiscere  novit. 

haec,  quae  modo  pallida  tabo 
color  albidus  inficit,  ora 
tunc  flore  venustior  omni 
sanguis  cute  tinguet  amoena.  100 

iam  nulla  deinde  senectus 
frontis  decus  invida  carpet, 
macies  neque  sicca  lacertos 
suco  tenuabit  adeso. 

Morbus  quoque  pestifer,  artus  105 

qui  nunc  populatur  anhelos, 
sua  tunc  torxnenta  resudans 
luet  inter  vincula  mille. 

hunc  eminus  aere  ab  alto 
victrix  caro,  iamque  perennis,  110 

cernet  sine  fine  gementem 
quos  moverat  ipse  dolores, 

quid  turba  superstes  inepta 
clangens  ululamina  miscet  ? 
cur  tam  bene  condita  iura  115 


90 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,  X 

the  remedy  for  them  that  want  reason,  when  the 
new  light  makes  the  mind  smart.**  He  taught  too 
that  no  man  sees  the  heavenly  kingdom  ere  in  dark- 
ness and  sore  hurt  he  has  borne  the  adversities  of 
the  world.  Therefore  is  death  itself  more  blessed, 
in  that  through  the  pains  of  death  a  way  on  high  is 
opened  for  the  righteous  and  by  their  sufferings  they 
pass  to  the  skies.  Thus  bodies  that  have  perished 
return  in  better  days,  and  the  frame  growing  warm 
again  after  its  decease  cannot  any  more  decline. 
These  cheeks  which  now  are  wan  and  white  vrith 
wasting  shall  then  have  beauteous  skin  tinged  with 
the  bloom  of  blood  more  charming  than  any  flower. 
No  longer  then  shall  jealous  age  steal  away  the  grace 
of  the  brow,  nor  withered  leanness  consume  the  sap 
of  the  arms  and  leave  them  shrunken.  Baleful 
Disease  too,  which  now  wastes  our  panting  frames, 
will  then  in  sweat  suffer  the  penalty  of  his  own 
torments  in  a  thousand  bonds. ^  From  high  heaven, 
far  off,  the  flesh,  victorious  and  now  immortal,  shall 
see  him  bemoaning  -without  end  the  very  pains  him- 
self had  caused  before.  Why  does  the  band  of  sur- 
vivors join  in  a  loud  noise  of  foolish  lamentation,  and 
senseless  grief  in  its  mourning  blame  laws  so  surely 

•  Tobit  xi,  7-13. 

*  Morbus,  personified  as  by  Virgil  at  Aeneid  VI,  275  (c/. 
CScero,  Dt  Natura  Deorum  III,  44),  is  here  probably  identified 
with  Satan;  morbus  often  has  a  moral  sense  (=  vitium). 

91 


PRUDENTIUS 

luctu  dolor  arguit  amens  ? 

iam  maesta  quiesce  querella, 
lacrimas  suspendite,  matres : 
nullus  sua  pignera  plangat, 
mors  haec  reparatio  vitae  est. 

sic  semina  sicca  virescunt 
iani  mortua,  iamque  sepulta, 
quae  reddita  caespite  ab  imo 
veteres  meditaiitur  aristas. 

nunc  suscipe,  terra,  fovendum, 
gremioque  hunc  concipe  molli : 
hominis  tibi  membra  sequestro, 
generosa  et  fragmina  credo. 

animae  fuit  haec  domus  olim 
factoris  ^  ab  ore  creatae  ; 
'lf\        fervens  habitavit  in  istis 
r^X  \    Sapientia  principe  Christo. 
.  (7  tu  depositum  tege  corpus  ; 

non  inmemor  ille  requiret 
sua  munera  factor  et  auctor 
propriique  aenigmata  vultus. 

veniant  modo  tempora  iusta, 
cum  spem  Deus  inpleat  omnem, 
reddas  patefacta  necesse  est 
qualem  tibi  trado  figuram. 

non,  si  cariosa  vetustas 
dissolverit  ossa  favillis, 
fueritque  cinisculus  arens 
minimi  mensura  pugilli, 

nee,  si  vaga  flamina  et  aurae 
vacuum  per  inane  volantes 
tulerint  cum  pulvere  nervos, 
hominem  periisse  licebit. 

sed  dum  resolubile  corpus 


92 


THE   DAILY  ROUND,  X 

established?  Be  silent  now,  sad  plaint;  stay  your 
tears,  ye  mothers.  Let  none  lament  for  his  dear 
ones,  for  this  death  is  the  renewal  of  life.  It  is  thus 
that  dry  seeds  shoot  forth  green  after  they  are  dead 
and  buried,  and,  being  restored  from  the  depths  of 
the  ground,  repeat  the  harvests  of  former  years. 
Receive  now,  earth,  this  our  brother  into  thy  care, 
take  him  to  thy  gentle  bosom.  It  is  a  man's  body 
I  leave  in  thy  keeping ;  nobly  bom  the  remains  that 
I  commit  to  thy  trust.  This  was  once  the  home  of 
a  soul  created  from  its  Maker's  mouth ;  in  these 
remains  dwelt  glowing  Wisdom,  whose  head  is 
Christ.  Do  thou  cover  the  body  entrusted  to  thee ; 
He  who  is  its  maker  and  author  will  not  forget  it, 
and  will  seek  again  that  which  He  gave,  the  image 
of  His  own  countenance.  Come  the  just  time  when 
God  shall  fulfil  every  hope,  thou  must  needs  be  opened 
up  and  give  back  the  form,  such  as  I  give  it  up  to  thee. 
Never,  though  time's  decay  reduce  the  bones  to  dust, 
and  the  dry  and  scanty  ashes  be  but  the  measure 
of  a  ver}'  httle  handful,  never,  though  the  inconstant 
winds,  the  breezes  that  fly  through  the  empty  void, 
carry  the  flesh  away  and  leave  no  speck  behind,  will 
the  man  be  allowed  to  have  perished.    But  till  Thou 


*  cui  nobilis  ex  Patre  fons  est  ACD  (Bergman). 

93 


PRUDENTIUS 

revocas,  Deus,  atque  reformas, 
quanam  regione  iubebis 
animam  requiescere  purara  ? 

gremio  senis  addita  sancti 
recubabit,  ut  est  Eleazar, 
quern  floribus  undique  saeptum 
dives  procul  aspicit  ardens. 

sequimur  tua  dicta,  Redemptor, 
quibus  atra  e  morte  triumphans 
tua  per  vestigia  mandas 
socium  crucis  ire  latronem. 

patet  ecce  fidelibus  ampli 
via  lucida  iam  paradisi, 
licet  et  nemus  illud  adire, 
homini  quod  ademerat  anguis. 

illic,  precor,  optime  ductor, 
famulam  tibi  praecipe  mentem 
genitali  in  sede  sacrari, 
quam  liquerat  exul  et  errans. 

nos  tecta  fovebimus  ossa 
violis  et  fronde  frequenti, 
titulumque  et  frigida  saxa 
liquido  spargemus  odore. 

XI 

Hymnus  VIII  Kal.  Ianuarias 

Quid  est  quod  artum  circulum 
sol  iam  recurrens  deserit  ? 
Christusne  terris  nascitur, 
qui  lucis  auget  tramitem  ? 

heu  quam  fugacem  gratiam 
festina  volvebat  dies ! 
quam  paene  subductam  faeem 


94 


THE   DAILY  ROUND,   XI 

dost  recall  the  mortal  body,  O  God,  and  make  it  new, 
ill  what  region  wilt  Thou  bid  the  pure  soul  rest? 
In  the  bosom  of  the  holy  patriarch  shall  it  He,  hke 
Eleazar  "  with  flowers  all  about  him,  while  the  rich 
man,  as  he  burns,  looks  upKjn  him  from  afar.  We 
follow  Thy  words,  O  Redeemer,  with  which,  in  Thy 
triumph  over  the  blackness  of  death.  Thou  dost  bid 
the  robber.  Thy  companion  on  the  cross,  to  walk  in 
Thy  steps.  See  now,  for  the  faithful  a  shining  way 
lies  open  to  the  spaoious  garden  of  paradise,  and  they 
may  enter  that  grove  which  the  serpent  took  from 
man.  There,  I  pray,  good  Leader,  give  command 
that  the  spirit,  Thy  ser\'ant,  be  consecrated  to  Thee 
in  the  home  of  its  birth,  which  it  left  to  wander  in 
exile.  We  shall  care  for  the  entombed  bones  with 
violets  and  green  leaves  in  plenty,  and  with  perfumed 
essence  sprinkle  the  cold  stones  that  bear  the  epitaph. 


I  XI 

A  Hymn  for  the  25th  of  December 

I  What  means  it  that  the  sun  is  now  returning, 
I  leaving  his  narrow  circle  behind  him  ?    Is  not  Christ, 

who  enlarges  the  path  of  light,  born  this  day  on  earth  ? 

Ah,  how  fleeting  was  the  grace  day  was  bestowing 
jas  it  rolled  on  in  its  haste,  its  light  all  but  withdrawn 

*  The  Lazarus  of  Luke  xvi,  20. 

95 


4 


PRUDENTIUS 

sensim  recisa  extinxerat ! 

caelum  nitescat  laetius, 
gratetur  et  gaudens  humus  :  10 

scandit  gradatim  denuo 
iubar  priores  lineas. 

emerge,  dulcis  pusio, 
quern  mater  edit  castitas, 
parens  et  expers  coniugis,  15 

mediator  et  duplex  genus. 

ex  ore  quamlibet  Patris 
sis  ortus  et  Verbo  editus, 
tamen  paterno  in  pectore 
Sophia  callebas  prius,  20 

quae  prompta  caelum  condidit, 
caelum  diemque  et  cetera  ; 
virtute  Verbi  efFecta  sunt 
haec  cuncta,  nam  Verbum  Deus. 

sed  ordinatis  saeculis,  25 

rerumque  digesto  statu, 
fundator  ipse  et  artifex 
permansit  in  Patris  sinu, 

donee  rotata  annalium 
transvolverentur  milia,  30 

atque  ipse  peccantem  diu 
dignatus  orbem  viseret. 

nam  caeca  vis  inortalium 
venerans  inanes  nenias, 
vel  aera  vel  saxa  algida  35! 

vel  ligna  credebat  Deum. 

haec  dum  sequuntur,  perfidi 
praedonis  in  ius  venerant, 
et  mancipatam  fumido 
vitam  barathro  inmerserant. 

stragem  sed  istam  non  tulit 


96 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,  XI 

and  put  out  as  by  degrees  it  shortened!  But  now 
let  the  sky  shine  more  joyously,  the  earth  rejoice 
and  be  glad,  for  the  splendour  is  climbing  again  step 
by  step  to  its  former  paths.  Come  forth,  sweet  boy. 
Thy  mother  is  Chastity  herself,  a  mother  yet  un- 
wedded,  O  mediator^wofold  in  nature.  Albeit  Thou 
didst  come  from  the  mouth  of  the  Father  and  wert 
bom  of  the  Word,  yet  in  the  Father's  heart  as  Wisdom 
Thou  hadst  understanding  aforetime.  Wisdom  com- 
ing forth  established  the  heavens,  the  heavens  and 
the  day  and  all  things  else ;  by  the  power  of  the 
Word  were  all  these  made,  for  the  Word  was  God. 
But  when  the  ages  were  appointed  and  the  world  set 
in  order,  the  Creator  and  Artificer  himself  remained 
in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  until  the  thousands  of 
years  should  roll  past  and  He  himself  deign  to  visit 
a  world  long  given  to  sin.  For  the  bhnd  nature 
of  men,  paying  respect  to  vain  babblings,  beHeved 
that  a  piece  of  bronze  or  chilly  stone  or  wood  was 
God ;  and  in  following  these  they  had  fallen  into  the 
power  of  the  false  robber,  made  over  their  soul  to 
him,  and  plunged  it  in  the  smoking  pit.     But  Christ 


97 

VOL.  I.  E 


PRUDENTIUS 

Christus  cadentum  gentium, 
inpune  ne  forsan  sui 
Patris  periret  fabrica, 

mortale  corpus  induit,  45 

ut  excitato  corpore 
mortis  catenam  frangeret, 
hominemque  portaret  Patri. 

hie  ille  natalis  dies, 
quo  te  creator  arduus  50 

spiravit  et  limo  indidit, 
sermone  carnem  glutinans. 

sentisne,  virgo  nobilis, 
matura  per  fastidia 

pudoris  intactum  decus  55 

honore  partus  crescere  ? 

o  quanta  rerum  gaudia 
alvus  pudica  continet, 
ex  qua  novellum  saeculum 
procedit  et  lux  aurea !  60 

vagitus  ille  exordium 
vernantis  orbis  prodidit, 
nam  tunc  renatus  sor'klidum 
mundus  veternum  depulit. 

sparsisse  tellurem  reor  65 

rus  omne  densis  floribus, 
ipsasque  harenas  Syrtium 
fragrasse  nardo  et  nectare. 

te  cuncta  nascentem,  puer, 
sensere  dura  et  barbara,  70 

victusque  saxorum  rigor 
obduxit  herbam  cotibus. 

iam  mella  de  scopulis  fluunt, 
iam  stillat  ilex  arido 
sudans  amomum  stipite,  75  ; 


98 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,  XI 

did  not  suffer  the  nations  thus  to  fall  and  be  de- 
stroyed. Lest  perchance  His  Father's  handiwork 
perish  unregarded,  He  put  on  a  mortal  body,  so  that 
by  raising  the  body  to  life  He  might  break  death's 
chain  and  carry  man  to  the  Father.  This  is  the  natal 
day  on  which  the  Creator  on  high  breathed  Thee 
forth  and  set  Thee  in  a  frame  of  clay,  uniting  flesh 
with  the  Word.  Feelest  thou,  noble  maiden,  through 
thy  weariness  now  come  to  its  time,  that  the  un- 
defiled  glorj-  of  thy  purity  waxes  with  the  honour  of 
the  child  thou  bearest?  What  joys  for  the  world 
that  chaste  womb  holds,  whence  comes  forth  the  new 
age  with  its  golden  light !  That  child's  crying  showed 
forth  the  beginning  of  the  world's  spring,  for  then 
the  world  reborn  put  away  its  foul  torpor.  The 
earth,  I  ween,  thickly  besprinkled  all  the  countryside 
with  flowers,  and  the  very  sands  of  the  desert  were 
scented  with  nard  and  nectar.  All  things  rough  and 
rude  were  conscious  of  Thy  birth,  O  Child ;  even  the 
hardness  of  stone  was  overcome  and  clothed  the 
rocks  •with  grass.  Now  honey  flows  from  the  crags, 
now  the  oak  sweats  drops  of  perfume  from  its  dry 

99 


PRUDENTIUS 

iam  sunt  myricis  balsama, 

o  sancta  praesepis  tui, 
aeterne  rex,  cunabula, 
populisque  per  saeclum  sacra 
mutis  et  ipsis  credita  !  80 

adorat  haec  brutum  pecus, 
indocta  turba  scilicet, 
adorat  excors  natio 
vis  cuius  in  pastu  sita  est. 

sed  cum  fideli  spiritu  85 

concurrat  ad  praesepia 
pagana  gens  et  quadrupes, 
sapiatque  quod  brutum  fuit, 

negat  patrum  prosapia 
perosa  praesentem  Deum :  90 

credas  venenis  ebriam, 
furiisve  lymphatam  rapi. 

quid  prona  per  scelus  ruis  ? 
agnosce,  si  quidquam  tibi 
mentis  resedit  integrae,  95 

ducem  tuorum  principum. 

hunc,  quem  latebra  et  obstetrix 
et  virgo  feta  et  cunulae, 
et  inbecilla  infantia, 
regem  dederunt  gentibus,  100 

peccator  intueberis 
celsum  coruscis  nubibus, 
deiectus  ipse  et  inritis 
plangens  reatum  fletibus, 

cum  vasta  signum  bucina  105 

terris  cremandis  miserit, 
et  scissus  axis  cardinem 
mundi  ruentis  solvent. 

insignis  ipse  et  praeminens 


lOO 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,  XI 

trunk,  and  the  tamarisks  bear  balsam.  How  holy 
Thy  manger-cradle,  King  eternal  I  The  nations 
through  all  time,  and  even  the  dumb  beasts,  hold 
it  sacred.  The  brute  cattle  adore  it,  a  mere  herd 
without  knowledge ;  the  senseless  tribe  adores  it, 
whose  only  vigour  is  in  feeding.  Yet  though  with 
faithful  spirit  heathen  race  and  four-footed  beast 
come  together  to  the  stall  and  what  was  brutish  show 
understanding,  the  seed  of  the  patriarchs  deny  Him, 
hating  the  God  who  is  present  among  them,  as  if  they 
were  drugged  with  poisons  or  maddened  by  Furies. 
Why  dost  thou  rush  headlong  on  the  path  of  sin? 
Recognise,  if  thou  hast  any  remainder  of  sound  sense, 
the  leader  of  thy  princes.  On  this  child,  whom  place 
of  refuge  and  midwife  and  maiden  mother  and  little 
cradle  and  feeble  infancy  have  given  to  the  nations 
as  their  King,  thou  as  a  sinner  shalt  look  when  He 
is  seated  on  high  in  flashing  clouds,  thyself  cast  down 
and  bemoaning  thy  guilt  ynth  vain  tears,  when  the 
awful  trump  shall  have  sounded  the  signal  for  the 
burning  of  the  earth,  and  the  axis  of  the  universe 
is  broken  and  lets  its  pole  fall  down  and  it  crashes  in 
ruin.     He  himself,  raised  in  eminence  above  all,  shall 

lOI 


PRUDENTIUS 

mentis  rependet  congrua,  110 

his  lucis  usum  perpetis, 
illis  gehennam  et  Tartarum. 

Judaea,  tunc  fulmen  crucis 
experta,  qui  sit  senties 
quem,  te  furoris  praesule,  115 

mors  hausit  et  mox  reddidit. 


XII 
Hymnus  Epiphaniae 

QuicuMQUE  Christum  quaeritis, 
oculos  in  altum  tolUte  : 
ilUc  licebit  visere 
signum  perennis  gloriae. 

haec  Stella,  quae  solis  rotam  5 

vincit  decore  ac  lumine, 
venisse  terris  nuntiat 
cum  came  terrestri  Deum. 

non  ilia  servit  noctibus 
secuta  lunam  menstruam,  10 

sed  sola  caelum  possidens 
cursum  dierum  temperat. 

Arctoa  quamvis  sidera 
in  se  retortis  motibus 

obire  nolint,  attamen  15 

plerumque  sub  nimbis  latent. 

hoc  sidus  aeternum  manet, 
haec  Stella  nunquam  mergitur, 
nee  nubis  occursu  abdita 
obumbrat  obductam  facem.  20 

tristis  cometa  intercidat, 
et,  si  quod  astrum  Sirio 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,  XII 

requite  each  according  to  his  deserts,  giving  these  to 
enjoy  unending  light,  those  to  suffer  hell  and  Tartarus. 
Then,  O  Judaea,  when  thou  hast  felt  the  thunderbolt 
of  the  cross,  thou  shalt  understand  who  He  is  whom 
death,  raging  under  thy  patronage,  swallowed  up,  and 
then  gave  back. 


XII 

A  Hymn  for  Epiphany 

All  ye  that  seek  the  Christ,  lift  up  your  eyes  on 
high ;  there  may  you  see  the  sign  of  everlasting 
glory.  This  star  which  in  its  beauty  and  Ught  sur- 
passes the  sun's  orb  proclaims  that  God  has  come  to 
earth  with  earthly  flesh.  No  servant  of  the  night  is 
this,  attending  the  monthly  moon,  but  sole  tenant  of 
the  sky,  ruling  the  course  of  the  days.  Though  the 
constellations  of  the  Bears,  whose  motions  turn  again 
upon  themselves,  refuse  to  set,  yet  oft  are  they  hidden 
under  storm-clouds.  This  star  abides  for  ever,  this 
star  never  sinks  nor  is  hidden  by  oncoming  cloud 
drawing  a  shade  over  its  brightness.  Perish  the  ill- 
omened  comet,  let  every  star  that  bums  even  with 

103 


PRUDENTIUS 

fervet  vapore,  iam  Dei 
sub  luce  destructum  cadat. 

en  Persici  ex  orbis  sinu,  25 

sol  unde  sumit  ianuam, 
cernunt  periti  interpretes 
regale  vexillum  magi. 

quod  ut  refulsit,  ceteri 
cessere  signorum  globi,  30 

nee  pulcher  est  ausus  suam 
conferre  formam  Lucifer. 

"  quis  iste  tantus  "  inquiunt 
"  regnator  astris  imperans, 
quern  sic  tremunt  caelestia,  35 

cui  lux  et  aethra  inserviunt  ? 

inlustre  quiddam  cernimus, 
quod  nesciat  finem  pati, 
sublime,  celsum,  interminum, 
antiquius  caelo  et  chao.  40 

hie  ille  rex  est  gentium 
populique  rex  ludaici, 
promissus  Abrahae  patri 
eiusque  in  aevum  semini. 

aequanda  nam  stellis  sua  45 

cognovit  olim  germina 
primus  sator  credentium, 
nati  inmolator  unici. 

iam  flos  subit  Daviticus 
radice  lessea  editus,  50 

sceptrique  per  virgam  virens 
rerum  cacumen  occupat." 

exim  sequuntur  perciti 
fixis  in  altum  vultibus, 
qua  Stella  sulcum  traxerat  55 

claramque  signabat  viam. 


104 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,  XII 

Sirius'  heat  sink  now  in  destruction  under  God's  light. 
See,  from  the  far  corner  of  the  Persian  land,  whence 
the  sun  makes  his  entry,  wise  men,  skilled  inter- 
preters, discern  the  royal  ensign.  As  soon  as  it 
flashed  out,  all  other  starry  orbs  gave  place,  and  even 
the  fair  morning  star  durst  not  put  his  beauty  in 
comparison.  "  Who,"  say  they,  "  is  this  great  ruler 
who  commands  the  stars,  of  whom  the  heavenly 
bodies  thus  stand  in  awe,  whom  Ught  and  sky  obey  ? 
It  is  a  glorious  thing  we  see,  that  can  suffer  no  end, 
exalted,  lofty,  boundless,  more  ancient  than  heaven 
and  the  realm  of  darkness.  This  is  that  king  of  the 
nations  and  of  the  people  of  Judaea,  who  was  promised 
to  father  Abraham  and  to  his  seed  for  ever.  For  the 
first  father  of  all  believers,  he  who  offered  his  only 
son  in  sacrifice,  learned  that  his  progeny  must  one 
day  be  made  equal  to  the  stars."  Now  comes  the 
flower  of  David,  sprung  from  the  root  of  Jesse, 
blooming  along  the  sceptre-rod  ^  and  taking  the 
highest  place  in  the  world."  Then  quickly  did  they 
follow,  with  eyes  fixed  on  high,  where  the  star  was 
marking  the  way  with  its  trail  of  light.     But  the  sign 

°  Genesis  xv,  5.  *  Cf.  Numbers  xvii,  1-8. 

105 
e2 


PRUDENTIUS 

sed  verticem  pueri  supra 
signum  pependit  inminens, 
pronaque  submissum  face 
caput  sacratum  prodidit.  60 

videre  quod  postquam  magi, 
Eoa  promunt  munera, 
stratique  votis  ofFerunt 
tus,  myrrham  et  aurum  regium. 

agnosce  clara  insignia  65 

virtutis  ac  regni  tui, 
puer  o,  cui  trinam  Pater 
praedestinavit  indolem : 

regem  Deumque  adnuntiant 
thesaurus  et  fragrans  odor  70 

turis  Sabaei,  at  myrrheus 
pulvis  sepulcrum  praedocet. 

hoc  est  sepulcrum,  quo  Deus, 
dum  corpus  extingui  sinit 
atque  id  sepultum  suscitat,  75 

mortis  refregit  carcerem. 

o  sola  magnarum  urbium 
maior  Bethlem,  cui  contigit 
ducem  salutis  caelitus 
incorporatum  gignere !  80 

altrice  te  summo  Patri 
heres  creatur  unicus, 
homo  ex  Tonantis  spiritu, 
idemque  sub  membris  Deus. 

hunc  et  prophetis  testibus  85 

isdemque  signatoribus 
testator  et  sator  iubet 
adire  regnum  et  cernere, 

regnum,  quod  ambit  omnia 
dia  et  marina  et  terrea  90 


io6 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,  XII 

hung  in  the  heavens  above  the  child's  head,  and, 
coming  low,  with  downward  beam  revealed  the  sacred 
Person.  And  seeing  Him  the  wise  men  bring  forth 
gifts  from  the  East,  and  prostrating  themselves  in 
worship  make  offerings  of  incense  and  myrrh  and 
royal  gold.  Recognise,  O  ChUd,  the  clear  emblems 
of  Thy  power  and  sovereignty,  Thou  for  whom  the 
Father  fore-ordained  a  threefold  nature.  King  and 
God  the  treasures  proclaim,  and  the  sweet  scent  of 
Sabaean  incense ;  but  the  powder  of  mj-rrh  foretells 
the  tomb.  This  is  the  tomb  in  which  God,  by  suffer- 
ing the  body  to  die  and  raising  it  again  from  the  grave, 
has  broken  death's  prison.  O  Bethlehem,  greatest 
art  thou  of  great  cities,  since  to  thee  it  has  fallen  to 
bring  to  birth  incarnate  the  heaven-sent  leader  of 
salvation.  Thou  dost  nurse  the  only-begotten  heir 
of  the  supreme  Father,  who  is  man  born  of  the 
Thunderer's  breath,  yet  also  God  in  the  flesh.  Him 
His  Father's  testament,  Avith  the  prophets  to  witness 
and  affix  their  seals,  bids  enter  on  His  kingdom  and 
take  possession " — a  kingdom  that  embraces  all 
things  in  heaven  and  sea  and  earth  from  east  to  west, 

•  Prudentius  has  in  mind  some  of  the  formalities  connected 
with  a  Roman  vrill.  In  this  connection  cemere  is  a  technical 
term  =  hereditaiefii  adire.  Cf.  Festus  (Lindsay)  46,  18, 
Varro  De  Lingua  Latina  Wl,  98.  The  sentence  refers,  of 
course,  to  the  Old  Testament  and  plays  on  two  meanings  of 
tuiamentum, 

107 


PRUDENTIUS 

a  solis  ortu  ad  exitum, 

et  Tartara  et  caelum  supra. 

audit  tyrannus  anxius 
adesse  regum  principem, 
qui  nomen  Istrahel  ^  regat,  95 

teneatque  David  regiam. 

exclamat  amens  nuntio 
"  successor  instat,  pellimur: 
satelles,  i,  ferrum  rape, 
perfunde  cunas  sanguine.  100 

mas  omnis  infans  occidat, 
scrutare  nutricum  sinus, 
interque  materna  ubera 
ensem  cruentet  pusio. 

suspecta  per  Bethlem  mihi  105 

puerperarum  est  omnium 
fraus,  ne  qua  furtim  subtrahat 
prolem  virilis  indolis." 

transfigit  ergo  carnifex 
mucrone  districto  furens  110 

efFusa  nuper  corpora, 
animasque  rimatur  novas. 

locum  minutis  artubus 
vix  interemptor  invenit 
quo  plaga  descendat  patens,  115 

iuguloque  maior  pugio  est. 

o  barbarum  spectaculura ! 
inlisa  cervix  cautibus 
spargit  cerebrum  lacteum, 
oculosque  per  vulnus  vomit ;  1 

aut  in  profundum  palpitans 
mersatur  infans  gurgitem, 
cui  subter  artis  faucibus 
singultat  unda  et  halitus. 


io8 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,   XII 

the  depths  of  hell  and  the  skies  above.  The  uneasy 
monarch  hears  of  the  coming  of  the  King  of  Kings 
to  rule  over  the  name  of  Israel  and  possess  the  throne 
of  David.  Out  of  his  mind  at  the  news,  he  cries 
"  He  that  shall  take  my  place  is  upon  me,  driving 
me  out.  Go,  guard,  grasp  thy  sword  and  steep  the 
cradles  in  blood.  Let  every  male  child  perish. 
Search  the  nurses'  bosoms,  and  at  the  mother's 
breasts  let  the  boy-child's  blood  redden  thy  blade* 
I  suspect  guile  in  all  that  have  borne  babes  in 
Bethlehem,  lest  one  of  them  by  stealth  save  her  male 
progeny."  So  the  executioner  raging  madly  with 
drawn  sword  pierces  the  new-born  bodies  and  tears 
the  young  Ufe  out  of  them.  Scarce  can  the  slayer 
find  room  on  the  little  frames  for  the  gaping  wound 
to  fall  upon;  the  dagger  is  bigger  than  the  throat. 
O  barbarous  sight !  A  head  dashed  against  the  stones 
scatters  the  milk-white  brains  and  spews  out  the 
eyes  through  the  wound;  or  a  babe  is  flung  all 
throbbing  into  the  depths  of  the  flood,  and  beneath 
in  his  narrow  throat  water  and  breath  make  choking 

*  This  spelling  is  found  in  pre-  Vulgate  Latin  Scriptures. 

109 


PRUDENTIUS 

salvete,  flores  martyrum,  125 

quos  lucis  ipso  in  limine 
Christi  insecutor  sustulit, 
ceu  turbo  nascentes  rosas. 

vos,  prima  Christi  victima, 
grex  inmolatorum  ^  tener,  130 

aram  ante  ipsam  simplices 
palma  et  coronis  luditis. 

quo  proficit  tantum  nefas  ? 
quid  crimen  Herodem  iuvat  ? 
unus  tot  inter  funera  135 

inpune  Christus  tollitur. 

inter  coaevi  sanguinis 
fluenta  solus  integer 
ferrum,  quod  orbabat  nurus, 
partus  fefellit  virginis.  140 

sic  stulta  Pharaonis  mali 
edicta  quondam  fugerat 
Christi  figuram  praeferens 
Moses,  i-eceptor  civium. 

cautum  et  statutum  ius  erat  145 

quo  non  liceret  matribus, 
cum  pondus  alvi  absolverent, 
puerile  pignus  tollere. 

mens  obstetricis  sedulae 
pie  in  tyrannum  contumax  150 

ad  spem  potentis  gloriae 
furata  servat  parvulum, 

quem  mox  sacerdotem  sibi 
adsumpsit  orbis  conditor, 
per  quem  notatam  saxeis  155 

legem  tabellis  traderet. 

licetne  Christum  noscere 
tanti  per  exemplum  viri  ? 

no 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,  XII 

spasms.  Hail,  martyr-flowers,  whom  on  the  very 
threshold  of  life  the  persecutor  of  Christ  destroyed, 
as  the  stormy  wind  kills  roses  at  their  birth.  You 
are  Christ's  first  offerings,  a  tender  flock  slain  in 
sacrifice,  and  before  the  very  altar  you  play  in  inno- 
cence with  palm  and  crowns.  \\'hat  boots  such 
wickedness?  \Miat  profits  Herod  from  his  crime? 
Amid  so  many  deaths  Christ  alone  is  reared  un- 
harmed. WTiile  the  blood  of  His  generation  flowed, 
the  virgin's  child  alone  has  escaped  untouched  the 
sword  that  robbed  young  married  mothers  of  their 
babes.  It  was  thus  that  Moses,  the  protector  of  his 
people,  prefiguring  Christ,  once  escaped  the  ^vicked 
Pharaoh's  foolish  proclamation.  A  law  had  been 
decreed  and  ordained  whereby  mothers,  when  they 
were  delivered  of  the  womb's  burden,  might  not 
rear  a  boy-child.  But  the  zealous  mid^\'ife,  her  spirit 
loyally  disobedient  to  the  monarch,  stole  away  the 
little  one  and  saved  him  for  the  hope  of  mighty  glory ; 
and  by  and  by  the  world's  Creator  took  him  to  be 
His  priest,  by  whose  hands  He  should  transmit  the 
law  graven  on  tables  of  stone.  May  we  not  recognise 
Christ  in  the   example  of  this  great  man?     That 

^  inmaculatorum  A  B  (JoUouxd  by  Bergman). 

Ill 


PRUDENTIUS 

dux  ille  caeso  Aegyptio 

absolvit  Istrahel  iugo ;  160 

atnos,  subactos  iugiter 
erroris  imperio  gravi, 
dux  noster  hoste  saucio 
mortis  tenebris  liberal. 

hie  expiatam  fluctibus  165 

plebem  marino  in  transitu 
repurgat  undis  dulcibus, 
lueis  eolumnam  praeferens ; 

hie  proeliante  exercitu, 
pansis  in  altum  braeehiis,  170 

sublimis  Amalec  premit, 
crucis  quod  instar  tunc  fuit. 

hie  nempe  lesus  verior, 
qui  longa  post  dispendia 
vietor  suis  tribuHbus  175 

promissa  solvit  iugera. 

qui  ter  quaternas  denique 
refluentis  amnis  alveo 
fundavit  et  fixit  petras, 
apostolorum  stemmata,  180 

iure  ergo  se  ludae  dueem 
vidisse  testantur  magi, 
cum  facta  priscorum  ducum 
Christi  figuram  pinxerint.^ 

hie  rex  priorum  iudicum,  185 

rexere  qui  Jacob  genus, 
dominaeque  rex  ecclesiae, 
templi  et  novelli  et  pristini. 

hunc  posteri  Ephrem  colunt, 
hunc  sancta  Manassae  domus,  190 

omnesque  suspiciunt  tribus 
bis  sena  fratrum  semina. 


112 


THE  DAILY  ROUND,   XII 

leader,  after  he  slew  the  Egyptian,  freed  Israel  from 
the  yoke;  but  us,  who  are  in  continual  suljjection 
to  the  grievous  power  of  sin,  our  'Leader,  disabling 
our  enemy,  sets  free  from  the  darkness  of  death. 
Moses  cleanses  the  people  in  the  waves  in  the  crossing 
of  the  sea  and  purifies  them  with  sweet  °  waters, 
and  carries  before  them  a  pillar  of  light.  Moses,  while 
the  host  does  battle,  stands  aloft  stretching  up  his 
arms  and  subdues  Amalech,*  and  this  was  then  a 
symbol  of  the  cross.  He  "^  indeed  is  a  truer  Jesus, 
who,  after  long  wanderings  gained  the  victory  and 
parted  the  prom'sed  lands  to  his  tribesmen  <* ;  and 
lastly  twelve  stones  did  he  plant  firmly  in  the  bed  of 
the  river  where  its  waters  were  stayed,*  and  these  are 
the  forerunners  of  the  apostles.  Rightly,  then,  do  the 
wise  men  bear  witness  that  they  have  seen  the 
Leader  of  Judah,  since  the  deeds  of  old-time  leaders 
pictured  the  figure  of  Christ.  He  is  King  of  the 
judges  of  former  times  who  ruled  over  the  race  of 
Jacob,  and  King  of  the  church  which  now  holds  sway. 
King  both  of  the  new  temple  and  the  old.  Him 
the  descendants  of  Ephraim  worship,  Him  the  holy 
house  of  Manasses  and  all  the  tribes,  the  twelve-fold 
progeny  of  the  brothers,  reverence.     Nay,  even  all 

"  The  reference  is  possibly  to  Exodus  xv,  25,  26. 

*  Exodus  xvii,  10-13. 

"  Joshua,  whose  name  appears  as  Jesus  in  the  Septuagint 
and  may  have  had  this  form  in  a  pre- Vulgate  Latin  version 
known  to  Prudentius. 

''  Joshua  xiii,  7. 

'  Joshua  iii,  14r-iv,  9. 


finxerint  in  two  of  Bergman's  doss  A  MSS. 

113 


PRUDENTIUS 

quin  et  propago  degener 
ritum  secuta  inconditum, 
quaecumque  dirum  fervidis  195 

Bahal  caminis  coxerat, 

fumosa  avorum  numina, 
saxum,  metallum,  stipitem, 
rasum,  dolatum,  sectile, 
in  Christi  honorem  deserit.  200 

gaudete,  quicquid  gentium  est, 
ludaea,  Roma  et  Graecia, 
Aegypte,  Thrax,  Persa,  Scytha  : 
rex  uniis  omnes  possidet. 

laudate  vestrum  principem  205 

omnes  beati  ac  perditi, 
vivi,  inbecilli  ac  mortui : 
iam  nemo  posthac  mortuus. 


U4 


THE  DAILY   ROUND,  XII 

the  fallen  breeds  that  followed  a  barbarous  ritual 
and  baked  a  fearful  idol  in  burning  furnaces,  now 
abandon  the  smoke-grimed  gods  of  their  forefathers, 
of  stone  or  metal  or  wood,  filed  smooth  or  hewn 
or  cut,  to  honour  Christ.  Rejoice,  all  ye  nations, 
Judaea,  Rome  and  Greece,  Egypt,  Thracian,  Persian, 
Scythian:  one  King  is  master  of  all.  Praise  your 
Lord  every  one,  blessed  and  lost  aUke,  the  quick,  the 
feeble,  and  the  dead ;  no  man  henceforth  is  dead. 


"5 


APOTHEOSIS 

Hymnus  de  Trinitate  ' 

Est  tria  summa  Deus,  tfinum  specimen,  vigor  unus. 
corde  Patris  genita  est  Sapientia,  Filius  ipse  est; 
Sanctus  ab  aeterno  subsistit  Spiritus  ore. 
tempore  nee  senior  Pater  est,  nee  numine  maior, 
nam  sapiens  retro  semper  Deus  edidit  ex  se,  5 

per  quod  semper  erat,  gignenda  ad  saecula  Verbum. 
edere  sed  Verbum  Patris  est,  at  cetera  Verbi, 
adsumptum  gestare  hominem,  reparare  peremptum, 
conciliare  Patri,  dextraque  in  sede  locare. 
Spiritus  ista  Dei  conplet,  Deus  ipse  :   fideles  10 

in  populos  charisma  suum  difFundere  promptus, 
et  patris  et  Christi  virtutem  in  corpora  transfert. 


<PRAEFATIO> 

Est  vera  secta  ?  te,  Magister,  consulo. 

rectamne  servamus  fidem  ? 
an  viperina  non  cavemus  dogmata, 

et  nescientes  labimur  ? 
artam  salutis  vix  viam  discernere  est 

inter  reflexas  semitas. 
tam  multa  surgunt  perfidorum  conpeta 

tortis  polita  erroribus, 

^  There  is  little  MS.  authority  for  this  heading. 
ii6 


THE    DIVINITY    OF   CHRIST 

A  Hymn  on  the  Trinity 

God  is  three  supremes,  threefold  in  person,  one 
Uving  power.  Of  the  Father's  love  was  begotten  Wis- 
dom, and  the  same  is  the  Son ;  the  Holy  Spirit  is  from 
the  everlasting  lips.  The  Father  is  neither  older  in 
time  nor  greater  in  divinity  ;  for  God  was  wise  through 
infinite  time  past,  and  gave  forth  from  Himself,  to 
bring  the  world  into  being,  the  Word  whereby  He 
ever  was.  But  while  to  give  forth  the  Word  belongs 
to  the  Father,  all  else  is  of  the  Word,  to  take  on  and 
wear  the  nature  of  man  and  restore  him  from  de- 
struction, to  reconcile  him  to  the  Father  and  set  him 
at  His  right  hand.  This  the  Spirit  of  God  accom- 
plishes, who  himself  is  God  :  ever  ready  to  diffuse  His 
gracious  gift  upon  the  faithful  peoples.  He  transmits 
into  their  persons  the  power  both  of  the  Father  and 
of  the  Christ. 


PREFACE 

Is  our  doctrine  true?  To  Thee,  the  Master,  I 
appeal.  Are  we  keeping  the  right  faith,  or  from 
want  of  guarding  against  venomous  teachings  are  we 
slipping  unawares  ?  Hard  is  it  to  discern  the  narrow 
way  of  salvation  amid  twisting  paths.  So  many 
cross-roads  meet  us,  which  have  been  trodden  smooth 
by  the  misguided  straying  of  the  faithless ;  so  many 

J17 


PRUDENTIUS 

obliqua  sese  conserunt  divortia 

hinc  inde  textis  orbitis.  10 

quas  si  quis  errans  ac  vagus  sectabitur, 

rectum  relinquens  tramitem, 
scrobis  latentis  pronus  in  foveam  ruet, 

quam  fodit  hostilis  manus, 
manus  latronum,  quae  viantes  obsidet  15 

iter  sequentes  devium. 
quid  non  libido  mentis  humanae  struat  ? 

quid  non  malorum  pruriat  ? 
statum  lacessunt  omnipollentis  Dei 

calumniosis  litibus,  20 

fidem  minutis  dissecant  ambagibus 

ut  quisque  lingua  est  nequior ; 
solvunt  ligantque  quaestionum  vincula 

per  syllogismos  plectiles. 
vae  captiosis  sycophantarum  strophis !  25 

vae  versipelli  astutiae ! 
nodos  tenaces  recta  rumpit  regula, 

infesta  dissertantibus. 
idcirco  mundi  stulta  delegit  Deus, 

ut  concidant  sophistica,  30 

deque  inbecillis  subiugavit  fortia, 

simplex  ut  esset  credere, 
lapis  ecce  nostro  fixus  ofFensaculo  est, 

inpingat  in  quem  vanitas, 
signum  caventi,  non  caventi  scandalum  :         35 

hunc  sternit,  ilium  dirigit. 
dum  plura  temptat  caecus  incerto  gradu, 

incurrit  id  quod  obvium  est. 
fax  sola  fidei  est  praeferenda  gressibus, 

ut  recta  sint  vestigia.  40 

quis  in  tenebris  hostis  errantes  tamen 

pulsat  trahitque  et  preterit, 


uS 


THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

side-roads  join  together,  where  tracks  intertwine  on 
this  hand  and  on  that ;  and  if,  wandering  at  random, 
a  man  follows  them,  leaWng  the  straight  path,  he 
will  plunge  into  the  snare  of  a  hidden  pitfall  which  a 
band  of  enemies  have  dug,  a  band  of  robbers  who 
beset  travellers  when  they  follow  the  byway.  What 
would  not  the  lust  of  men's  minds  devise  ?  What  evil 
would  it  not  itch  after?  They  assail  the  being  of 
almighty  God  with  false  disputings  and  cut  the  faith 
in  pieces  with  da'-k,  finical  reasonings  in  proportion 
to  the  wickedness  of  their  tongues.  Using  intricate 
arguments  they  play  fast  and  loose  with  the  issues 
they  discuss.  Woe  to  the  deceivers'  cheating 
quirks !  Woe  to  their  crafty  cunning !  The  right 
rule  is  a  foe  to  their  prating,  and  bursts  their  tight 
knots.  God  has  specially  chosen  the  foolish  things 
of  the  world  to  overthrow  the  sophistical,  and  by 
means  of  weakness  has  subdued  strength,  that 
believing  might  be  simple.  Behold,  a  stone  is  set 
to  trip  us  up,  that  vanity  may  strike  against  it,  a 
guide-post  to  the  wary,  but  to  the  unwary  a  stumbling- 
block  ;  the  one  it  lays  low,  the  other  it  directs.  The 
blind  man  groping  on  with  uncertain  step  runs  into 
that  which  stands  in  his  way.  The  torch  of  faith 
alone  is  to  be  carried  before  our  feet,  that  our  steps 
may  be  straight.  But  when  we  go  astray  in  this 
darkness  the  enemy  buffets  us,  carries  us  away  cap- 

119 


PRUDENTIUS 

qui  sparsa  ad  ipsum  conmeantum  transitum 

frumenta  saevus  devorat, 
qui  laeta  Christi  culta  fur  interpolat  45 

addens  avenas  aemulas. 
quas  de  veneni  lacte  in  herbam  fertiles 

patitur  colonus  crescere, 
ne  forte  culmum  fibra  inanis  spiceum 

simul  revulsa  internecet.  50 

expectat  ergo  dum  dolosa  ^  et  farrea 

fervens  coquat  maturitas, 
det  ventilabro  lecta  quaeque  ut  horreis, 

urat  recrementum  focis. 
refert  sed  ipsa  nosse,  quae  messem  necant,      55 

zizaniorura  semina. 


Plurima  sunt  sed  pauca  loquar,  ne  dira  relatu 
dogmata  catholicam  maculent  male  prodita  linguam. 
ille  Patrem  pellens  solio  detrudit  in  artum 
corporis  humani  gestamen,  nee  pavet  ipsum 
obiectare  neci  duroque  adfigere  ligno.  5 

passibilisne  Deus  ?   cuius  species  et  imago 
nulli  visa  umquam :   nee  enim  conprendier  ilia 
maiestas  facilis  sensuve  oculisve  manuve. 
loannis  magni  Celebris  sententia  praesto  est, 
haud  umquam  testata  Deum  potuisse  videri.  10 

ille  Pater,  quem  nulla  acies  violenta  tuendo 

^  Most  MSS.  of  the  A  class,  including  the  6th-century  MS., 
have  vitiosa,  which  Bergman  adopts. 

"  In  lines  1  to  320  Prudentius  deals  with  heretical  doctrines 
which  denied  the  distinct  personal  being  of  the  Son,  and 
expounds  the  orthodox  view  of  the  Trinity.  One  form  of 
"  monarchic  "  doctrine,  in  order  to  safeguard  the  unity  of 


THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

tive,  tramples  upon  us,  a  cruel  enemy  who  devours 
the  proWsion  laid  out  along  the  way  for  the  very 
passage  of  travellers,  a  thief  who  spoils  Christ's  rich 
fields,  sowing  wild  oats  in  them  to  compete  with  the 
com.  Them  the  farmer  suffers  to  be  enriched  by 
their  poisonous  sap  and  grow  into  a  plant,  lest  haply 
the  pulhng  up  of  the  worthless  blade  kill  at  the  same 
time  the  stalk  that  bears  the  ear  of  com.  He  waits 
therefore  till  ripening  warmth  mature  the  false 
grain  and  the  true,  that  he  may  store  in  his  bams 
what  the  fan  selects  and  burn  the  refuse  in  the  fire. 
Yet  it  concerns  U3  to  know  the  very  seeds  of  the 
tares  that  kill  the  crop. 


Very  many  teachings  there  are,  but  of  few  shall 
I  tell,  lest  misguided  utterance  of  unspeakable 
doctrines  stain  an  orthodox  tongue.  Yonder  is  one 
who,  banishing  the  Father  from  his  throne,  thrusts 
Him  into  the  narrow  vesture  of  a  man's  body  and 
fears  not  to  subject  the  Father  to  death  and  fasten 
Him  on  the  cruel  cross.*'  Can  God  suffer?  His 
shape  and  form  no  man  has  ever  seen ;  for  that 
majesty  is  not  easily  to  be  grasped  by  thought  or 
eye  or  hand.  We  have  the  great  John's  well-kno^vn 
saying  on  our  side,  which  declares  that  it  has  never 
been  possible  to  see  God.  He  is  the  Father,  whom 
no  eye  has  ever  had  force  to  reach  by  looking  from 

God,  held  that  in  Christ  the  Father  himself  was  incarnate, 
whence  it  followed  that  the  Father  suffered  on  the  cross. 
SabelliuB  (see  178),  who  developed  this  line  of  thought  in  the 
3rd  century,  seems  to  have  regarded  the  Trinity  as  three 
manifestations  or  modes  (c/.  14)  of  the  one  God. 

121 


PRUDENTIUS 

eminus  ardentis  penetravit  acumine  visus, 

qui  se  forma  hominis  non  induit,  et  Deitatis 

inmensum  adsumpto  non  temperat  ore  modove. 

aut  evangelic!  pietas  spernenda  libelli  15 

iam,  blaspheme,  tibi  est,  aut  numquam  visa  beati 

vis  intacta  Patris,  non  admiscenda  caducis. 

sed  tamen  et  Patris  est  specimen  quod  cemere  fas 

sit, 
humanis  aliquando  oculis  concurrere  promptum, 
quod  quamvis  hebes  intuitus  speculamine  glauco     20 
umentique  acie  potuit  nebulosus  adire. 
quisque  hominum  vidisse  Deum  memoratur,  ab 

ipso 
infusum  vidit  Gnatum ;  nam  Filius  hoc  est, 
quod  de  Patre  micans  se  praestitit  inspiciendum 
per  species  quas  possit  homo  conprendere  visu.      25 
nam  mera  maiestas  est  infinita,  nee  intrat 
obtutus,  aliquo  ni  se  moderamine  formet. 
hoc  vidit  princeps  generosi  seminis  Abram, 
iam  tunc  dignati  terras  invisere  Christi 
hospes  homo,  in  triplicem  numen  radiasse  figuram.  30 
hoc  conluctantis  tractarunt  bracchia  lacob. 
ipse  dator  legis  divinae  accedere  coram 
iussus,  amicitiae  conlato  qui  stetit  ore 
comminus  et  sacris  coniunxit  verba  loquellis, 
carnis  in  effigie  Christum  se  cernere  sensit.  35 

sed  maiora  petens  animum  per  vota  tetendit 
inconcessa  homini,  plusquam  mortale  laborans 
ipsum,  quantus  erat,  sine  corpore  visere  Christum, 
denique  post  multi  sermonis  mutua,  postque 
conspectum  praesentis  Eri  et  consortia  longa,  40 


"  Genesis  xyiii. 
192 


THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

without  with  keen,  flashing  vision,  and  who  does  not 
put  on  the  form  of  man  nor  quaUfy  the  infinity  of  his 
Godhead  by  assuming  countenance  or  mode.  Either, 
thou  blasphemer,  must  thou  reject  the  faithfulness 
of  the  gospel-book,  or  else  the  intangible  being  of  the 
blessed  Father,  which  cannot  mingle  with  mortality, 
has  never  been  seen.  Yet  still  there  is  a  revelation 
of  the  Father  which  it  is  permitted  to  see,  which  at 
sundry  times  has  presented  itself  to  the  eyes  of  men, 
and  to  which  our  sight,  for  all  its  dimness,  with  its 
dull  vision  and  watery  eyes,  has  been  able  through 
its  mists  to  attain.  Whosoever  of  men  is  said  to  have 
seen  God  has  seen  the  Son  whom  He  imparted ;  for 
it  is  the  Son  who,  issuing  from  the  Father,  has 
manifested  himself  to  our  eyes  in  forms  which  man 
can  grasp  with  his  sight ;  the  pure  maj  esty  is  in- 
finite, and  comes  not  within  our  vision  unless  it  takes 
some  tempering  shape.  It  is  this  di\inity  that 
Abraham,  the  founder  of  the  noble  race,  the  mortal 
man  who  entertained  Christ  when  even  thus  early 
He  deigned  to  visit  the  earth,  saw  radiated  into  three 
figures";  it  is  this  that  Jacob's  arms  touched  as  he 
wTestled  with  Him.*  He  who  gave  forth  the  divine 
law  and  was  commanded  to  come  into  the  presence, 
who  stood  face  to  face  in  friendship  and  conversed 
with  the  Holy  One,  understood  that  he  saw  the  Christ 
in  the  form  of  flesh.  But  seeking  greater  things,  he 
let  his  heart  reach  out  in  ambitions  not  permitted  to 
man,  desiring  beyond  mortal  powers  to  see  Christ  him- 
self in  all  his  greatness  without  the  body ;  and  after 
much  exchange  of  speech,  after  seeing  his  Master  in 
person  and  holding  long  fellowship  with  Him,  "  I  pray 

^  Genesis  xxxii,  24. 

123 


PRUDENTIUS 

"  quaeso  "  ait  "  ut  liceat  te  nunc,  Deus  optime, 

nosse." 
respondit  Dominus  "  mea,  non  me,  cernere  iustis 
posteriora  dabo,"     quid  apertius,  absque  aliena 
quam  sumat  facie  Verbum  non  posse  videri, 
posse  tamen,  cum  malit,  idem  numquam  Patre  viso  45 
terrenis  oculis  habitu  se  ostendere  nostro, 
saepe  et  in  angelicas  vel  mortales  moderatum 
induci  species,  queat  ut  sub  imagine  cerni  ? 
hoc  Verbum  est  quod  vibratum  Patris  ore  benigno 
sumpsit  virgineo  fragilem  de  corpore  formam.  50 

inde  figura  hominis  nondum  sub  carne  Moysi 
obiecta  effigiem  nostri  signaverat  oris, 
quod  quandoque  Deus  Verbi  virtute  coactum 
sumpturus  corpus  faciem  referebat  eandem. 
sed  tamen  et  sentam  visa  est  excita  cremare  55 

\  flamma  rubum.     Deus  in  spinis  volitabat  acutis, 
vulnificasque  comas  innoxius  ignis  agebat, 
j  esset  ut  exemplo  Deus  inlapsurus  in  artus 
I  spiniferos,  sudibus  quos  texunt  crimina  densis 
I  et  peccata  malis  hirsuta  doloribus  inplent.  60 

inculto  nam  stirpe  frutex  vitiosus  iniquis 
luxuriam  virgis  inlionesto  effundere  suco 
coeperat  et  nodos  per  acumina  crebra  ligabat. 
;  cernere  erat  steriles  subito  splendescere  frondes, 
■  accensisque  citum  foliis  magno  inpete  late  65 

i  conlucere  Deum,  nee  spinea  laedere  texta, 
i  lambere  sanguineos  fructus  et  poma  cruenta, 
1  stringere  mortiferi  vitalia  germina  ligni, 
/  quandoquidem  tristes  purgantur  sanguine  culpae, 

"  Exodus  xxxiii,  11  and  18-23. 

*  The  Word  being  conceived  as  the  Creator.     Cf.  the  Hymn 
on  the  Trinity,  6,  and  John  i,  3. 
"  Exodus  iii,  2. 

124 


THE   DIVINITY  OF   CHRIST 

Thee,"  he  said,  "  O  God  most  excellent,  let  me  now 
know  Thee."  And  the  Lord  answered,  "  My  back 
parts,  not  myself,  shall  I  grant  the  righteous  to  see."  * 
VVhat  is  plainer  than  that,  apart  from  an  external 
form  which  He  assumes,  the  Word  cannot  be  seen, 
but  that  when  He  so  wills,  though  the  Father  has 
never  been  seen,  yet  the  Word  can  show  himself  to 
earthly  eyes  in  habit  like  ourselves,  and  that  often 
He  quahfies  himself  and  puts  on  the  shape  of  angel 
or  of  man,  that  He  may  be  visible  in  a  likeness  ? 
This  is  the  Word  which,  sent  forth  from  the  Father's 
gracious  mouth,  took  upon  Him  a  perishable  form 
from  a  maiden's  body.  The  figure  of  a  man  that 
was  presented  to  Moses  not  yet  in  the  flesh  bore 
the  likeness  of  our  countenance  because  God,  in- 
tending one  day  to  assume  a  body  formed  by  the 
power  of  the  Word,*  was  producing  the  same  features. 
Yet  flame  also  came  forth  and  seemed  to  burn  the 
thorny  bush  :  God  was  moving  amid  the  sharp  pricks, 
and  the  fire  was  tossing  its  hurt-dealing  tresses 
harmlessly,"  that  God  might  give  an  example,  since 
He  was  one  day  to  enter  into  our  thorny  frames, 
which  sins  entangle  \\ith  thick-set  spikes  and  bristly 
transgressions  fill  with  bitter  sorrows.  For  the  bush 
had  gone  wTong  from  want  of  attention  to  its  stock, 
had  begun  to  spread  rankly  with  bad  sap  into  un- 
wholesome growth,  and  was  making  knotty  joints 
along  many  a  sharp-pointed  shoot.  There  were  the 
unprofitable  boughs  suddenly  brightening,  and  God, 
stirring  amid  the  burning  leaves,  shining  afar  with 
mighty  power,  yet  not  hurting  the  thorny  tangle, 
lapping  the  blood-hued  fruits,  the  red  berries,  and 
hghtly  touching  the  shoots  of  Ufe  on  the  deathly 
wood ;  in  as  much  as  the  bitterness  of  sin  is  cleansed 

125 


PRUDENTIUS 

quern  contorta  rubus  densis  cruciatibus  edit.  7 

ergo  nihil  visum  nisi  quod  sub  came  videndum, 
lumen  imago  Dei,  Verbum  Deus  et  Deus  ignis, 
qui  sentum  nostri  peceamen  corporis  inplet ; 
nam  lucis  genitor,  Verbi  sator,  auctor  et  ignis 
creditur  extra  oculos,  ut  apostolus  edocet  auctor,     7 
qui  negat  intuitu  fontem  Deitatis  adiri. 
credite,  nemo  deum  vidit,  mihi  credite,  nemo, 
visibilis  de  fonte  Deus,  non  ipse  Dei  fons 
visibilis ;   cerni  potis  est  qui  nascitur,  at  non 
innatus  cerni  potis  est :  latet  os  Patris  illud  8 

unde  Deus  qui  visibilem  se  praestitit  olim, 
tale  aliquid  formans  in  sese  quale  secuta  est 
passio,  quae  corpus  sibi  vindicat ;   ardua  nam  vis 
est  inpassibilis,  quoniam  natura  superni 
ignis  ad  horrificas  nescit  descendere  poenas,  8 

nee  capit  humanis  angoribus  excruciari, 
pura,  serena,  micans,  liquido  praelibera  motu, 
subdita  nee  cuiquam,  dominatrix  utpote  rerum, 
cui  non  principium  de  tempore,  sed  super  omne 
tempus  et  ante  diem  maiestas  cum  Patre  summo,     9 
immo  animus  Patris  et  ratio,  \'ia  consiliorum, 
quae  non  facta  manu  nee  voce  creata  iubentis 
protulit  imperium  patrio  ructata  profundo. 
banc  igitur  non  flagra  secant,  non  sputa  salivis 
aspergunt,  alapis  non  vexat  palma  relisis,  9 

nee  perfossa  cruci  clavorum  vulnera  figunt. 
his  adfecta  caro  est  hominis,  quam  femina  praegnans 

<•  Johni,  18. 
136 


THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

with  blood,  which  the  bush  sheds  as  it  writhes  under 
tortures  unrelieved.  So  then  nothing  has  been  seen 
but  what  is  to  be  seen  in  the  flesh,  light  the  image  of 
God,  God  the  Word,  God  the  fire  that  fills  the  thorn- 
bush  of  sin  in  our  bodies  ;  for  the  begetter  of  light, 
the  Father  of  the  Word  and  the  source  of  the  fire 
is  beUeved  to  stand  beyond  the  reach  of  the  eyes, 
as  the  apostle  on  whom  we  rely  teaches  when  he 
says  that  sight  cannot  attain  to  the  fountain-head 
of  deity.**  Believe  me,  no  man  has  seen  God; 
believe  me,  no  man.  God  who  comes  forth  from  the 
fountain-head  is  visible,  but  the  very  fountain-head 
of  God  is  invisibl*^ ;  He  that  is  born  can  be  seen, 
but  He  that  was  not  born  cannot  be  seen.  Concealed 
is  that  mouth  of  the  Father  from  whence  came  God 
who  once  made  himself  visible,  taking  on  himself 
such  a  form  as  suffering,  which  demands  a  body, 
followed  upon.  For  the  potency  on  high  cannot 
suffer,  since  the  heavenly  fire  cannot  lower  itself  to 
feel  dreadful  pains,  nor  does  it  admit  of  being  racked 
with  human  tortures.  It  is  pure,  serene,  shining, 
utterly  free  and  unconstrained  in  movement,  not 
subject  to  any  power,  for  it  is  master  of  all  things, 
having  no  beginning  from  a  time,  but  beyond  all 
time  and  before  the  days  began  it  is  the  majesty 
that  resides  with  the  Father  supreme,  yea,  the  spirit 
of  the  Father,  his  thought,  the  channel  of  his 
designs,  which,  not  made  by  his  hand  nor  created 
by  the  voice  of  his  command,  but  emitted  from  the 
depths  of  the  Father,  carried  forth  his  will.  This 
therefore  no  scourges  cut  nor  spitting  defiles,  nor 
hand  hurts  with  buffeting  nor  nail-pierced  wounds 
fasten  upon  a  cross.  It  was  the  flesh  of  man  that 
felt  these  things,  flesh  that  a  woman  with  child 

127 


PRUDENTIUS 

enixa  est  sub  lege  uteri,  sine  lege  mariti. 

ille  famem  patitur,  fel  potat  et  haurit  acetum, 

ille  pavet  mortis  faciem,  tremit  ille  dolorem.  100 

dicite,  sacrilegi  doctores,  qui  Patre  summo 

desertum  iacuisse  thronum  contenditis  illo 

tempore  quo  fragiles  Deus  est  inlapsus  in  artus, 

ergo  Pater  passus  ?  quid  non  malus  audeat  error  ? 

ipse  puellari  conceptus  sanguine  crevit  ?  105 

ipse  verecundae  distendit  virginis  alvum  ? 

et  iam  falsiloqua  est  divini  pagina  libri, 

quae  Verbum  in  carnis  loquitur  fluxisse  figuram  ? 

at  non,  qui  Verbi  Pater  est,  caro  factus  habetur. 

fige  gradum,   Scriptura,  tuum ;    nil  mobile  et 

anceps  110 

adfirmasse  decet :   Pater  est,  quern  cernere  nulli 
est  licitum  ;  Pater  est,  qui  numquam  visus  in  orbe 

est, 
nee  mundana  inter  radiavit  lamina  coram, 
verbum  conspicuum  misit,  missumque  recepit 
cumvoluit:   Verbo  praestrinxit  viscera  purae        115 
virginis,  et  Verbo  struxit  puerilia  membra, 
ipse  quidem  in  terris  virtute  et  numine  praesens 
semper  adest  quocumque  loci,  nee  pars  vacat  ulla 
maiestate  Patris  ;  nusquam  est  genitor  Deus  absens, 
per   Verbum    sed   semper   adest;     atque    inde 

Philippo  120 

Christus  ait  "  tanto  tecum  iam  tempore  versor, 
et  Patrem  te  nosse  negas,  quern  perspicis  in  me  ?  " 
est  invisibilis  donum  Patris  edere  natum 
visibilem,  per  quem  valeat  Pater  ipse  videri, 
nee  solis  sanctorum  oculis,  sed  lumine  cassis  125 

128 


THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

brought  forth  according  to  the  law  of  birth,  without 
the  law  of  wedlock.  He  it  is  that  suffers  hunger, 
that  drinks  the  gall  and  drains  the  vinegar.  He 
it  is  that  fears  the  shape  of  death  and  trembles  at 
the  pain.  Tell  me,  ye  blasphemous  teachers,  who 
maintain  that  the  supreme  Father  abandoned  his 
throne  at  the  time  when  God  entered  into  a  mortal 
body,  was  it  the  Father,  then,  who  suffered  ?  What 
would  not  evil  error  dare  ?  Was  the  Father  himself 
conceived  and  did  He  grow  from  a  maid's  blood  ? 
Did  He  himself  swell  a  modest  virgin's  womb  ?  And 
does  the  page  of  the  holy  book  lie,  then,  when  it 
says  that  the  Wo^d  passed  into  the  form  of  flesh  ? 
It  is  not  He  who  is  the  Father  of  the  Word,  that  is 
believed  to  have  been  made  flesh.  Plant  thy  step 
firmly,  O  Scripture ;  it  is  not  seemly  to  have  stated 
aught  that  is  unsure  and  undependable.  He  is  the 
Father,  whom  none  has  been  permitted  to  see ;  He 
is  the  Father,  who  has  never  been  seen  in  the  world 
nor  shone  in  his  own  person  among  the  world's 
luminaries.  He  sent  the  visible  Word  and  received 
again,  when  He  would,  the  Word  He  sent.  By  the 
Word  He  touched  the  pure  virgin's  flesh,  and  by  the 
Word  built  up  the  child's  body.  He  indeed  is  always 
and  everywhere  present  on  earth  in  power  and 
spirit,  and  no  part  of  it  is  without  the  Father's 
majesty;  God  the  Father  is  nowhere  absent ;  but  it 
is  through  the  Word  that  He  is  ever  present,  and 
hence  it  is  that  Christ  says  to  Philip,  "  Am  I  ^vith 
thee  this  long  time,  and  sayest  thou  that  thou 
know  est  not  the  Father,  whom  thou  seest  in  me  ?  " 
It  is  the  gift  of  the  invisible  Father  that  He  brings 
forth  the  visible  Son,  through  whom  the  Father 
himself  can  be  seen,  and  not  only  by  the  eyes  of  the 

129 

VOL.  I.  F 


PRUDENTIUS 

caecorum ;  caecos  loquor,  atra  socordia  quorum 
corde  tenebroso  verum  perpendere  nescit. 
quern  si  perspicuum  mortalibus  infitiaris, 
fare  age,  quern  videat  Babylonis  ab  arce  tyrannus 
innocuas  inter  flammas  procul  exspatiantem,  130 

calcantem  rapidos  inadustis  fratribus  ignes. 
nempe  ait  "  o  proceres,  tris  vasta  ineendia  anhelis 
accepere  viros  fornacibus  ;   additus  unus 
ecce  vaporiferos  ridens  intersecat  ignes. 
Filius  ille  Dei  est ;  fateorque  et  victus  adoro.  135 

inrisas  removete  faces,  taedasque  tepentes 
subtrahite  ;  friget  succensi  sulpuris  ardor. 
Filius  (baud  dubium  est)  agit  haec  miracula  rerum, 
quem  video,  Deus  ipse,  Dei  certissima  proles, 
imperat  inmensis  ardoribus  et  domat  iras,  140 

insultans  famulante  rogo,  piceosque  furores 
conprimit  et  rabiem  flammarum  algescere  cogit. 
barbaricos  calida  aura  sinus  non  tangere  iussa 
praeterit  et  tenues  stridens  transcurrit  amictus. 
ipse  per  Assyrios  metuit  vapor  ire  tiaras,  145 

ne  coma  fusa  umeris  fumo  obsordescat  amaro." 
haec  ait,  et  varios  iubet  obmutescere  cantus, 
organa,  sambucas,  citharas  calamosque  tubasque. 
stulta  superstitio  tacuit,  vox  festa  quievit, 
quae  male  conspicuae  celebrabat  imaginis  aurum.  150 
carmina  sanctorum  resonant  iam  sola  virorum 
triplice  concentu  regem  laudantia  caeli, 
qui  mare,  qui  terras,  qui  lucida  sidera  fecit, 

"  Daniel  iii,  24  ff. 

*  Prudentius  makes  Nebuchadnezzar  speak  like  an  occi- 
dental, just  as  Virgil  does  Aeneas  {Aeneid  ii,  504). 

130 


THE  DIVINITY   OF  CHRIST 

holy,  but  by  the  sightless  eyes  of  the  blind ;  and  by 
the  blind  I  mean  those  who  in  the  black  dullness  of 
their  darkened  heart  cannot  appreciate  the  truth. 
If  you  deny  that  He  is  visible  to  mortals,  then  tell 
me  who  it  is  that  from  Babylon's  throne  the  king 
sees  at  a  distance  walking  unharmed  through  the 
flames,  and  trampling  on  the  consuming  fires  with 
his  brethren  unscorched."  He  says,  you  know,  "  Ye 
nobles,  three  men  the  devouring  fire  received  in  the 
panting  furnace,  and  lo !  one  more  parts  asunder 
■with  a  smile  the  flame's  hot  gust.  That  is  the  Son 
of  God.  I  confess  it,  and  yield  and  worship  Him. 
Take  ye  away  the  brands,  for  they  are  laughed  to 
scorn ;  draw  off"  the  dying  logs  of  pitch-pine ;  the 
brimstone  ye  set  fire  to  is  chilled.  It  is  the  Son, 
no  doubt  of  it,  that  works  these  wonders ;  He  is 
before  my  eyes,  God  himself,  God's  most  assured 
Son,  commanding  the  measureless  heat  and  taming 
its  wrath,  triumphing  over  the  fire,  his  servant ;  He 
subdues  the  raging  pitch  and  compels  the  fierce 
flames  to  grow  cold.  The  hot  breath  is  forbidden 
to  touch  the  folds  of  their  oriental  *  garments ;  it 
passes  them  by,  and  runs  hissing  past  their  fine 
raiment.  The  very  heat  fears  to  penetrate  their 
Assyrian  turbans,  lest  the  hair  that  falls  on  their 
shoulders  be  dirtied  by  the  acrid  smoke."  So  saying, 
he  bids  the  varied  sounds  of  music  cease,  all  the 
instruments,  sackbuts,  harps,  reed-pipes  and  cornets. 
Foolish  superstition  is  silent,  stilled  are  the  festal 
notes  that  were  sounding  in  honour  of  the  golden 
image  wickedly  set  up  to  view.  Now  only  the  songs 
of  the  holy  men  ring  out  as  with  three  voices  in 
concert  they  praise  the  king  of  heaven,  who  made  the 
sea,  the  lands,  the  shining  stars,  and  covered  his 

131 


PRUDENTIUS 

ignibus  et  mediis  secures  texit  alumnos, 

semper  in  auxilium  Sermo  Patris  omnipotentis       155 

descendit  servando  homini,  mortalia  semper 

admiscenda  sibi  proprio  curavit  amore, 

ut  socianda  caro  Dominoque  inplenda  perenni, 

degenerem  vitam  quae  tunc  animalis  agebat, 

[exemplo  mutaret  eri,  similesque  per  artus]  ^  160 

cernere  consortem  terreni  adsuesceret  oris, 

participemque  suum  visu  velut  obside  nosse, 

et  consanguineo  paulatim  accedere  Christo. 

ergo  animalis  homo  quondam,  nunc  Spiritus  ilium 

transtulit  ad  superi  naturam  seminis,  ipsum  165 

infundendo  Deum  mortalia  vivificantem. 

nunc  nova  materies  solidata  intercute  flatu, 

materies  sed  nostra  tamen,  de  virgine  tracta, 

exuit  antiquae  conrupta  exordia  vitae, 

inmortale  bonum  proprio  spiramine  sumens,  170 

filius  ille  hominis,  sed  Filius  ille  Tonantis, 

iam  solus  vultum  Patris  aspicit  et  videt  ipsum, 

nemo  Patrem  novit  nisi  Filius  et  cui  monstrat 

Filius,  et  nostri  mediator  et  omnipotentis. 

denique  concludam  brevis  ut  conpendia  summae  :  175 

non  Pater  in  carnem  descendit,  sed  Patris  arcem 

sumpta  caro  ascendit,  Natus  per  utrumque  cucurrit. 

Cede,  profanator  Christi,  iam  cede,  Sabelli, 
depositorque  Patris  Natique  insane  negator, 
nonne  Patrem  violas  dum  Natum  scire  recusas  ?     180 

^  This  line  does  not  appear  in  the  oldest  3IS8.,  and  is 
bracketed  btj  Bergman. 

<•  "  The  Song  of  the  Three  Holy  Children  "  (Benedicite)  is 
in  the  Greek  and  the  Vulgate  Latin  versions  of  Daniel  iii, 
after  verse  23,  though  not  in  the  Hebrew. 

*  Cf.  1  Corinthians  xv,  46. 

132 


THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

children  from  fear  in  the  midst  of  the  fire."  Ever 
did  the  Word  of  the  ahnighty  Father  come  down  to 
help  and  save  man ;  ever  did  He  of  his  own  love 
cause  his  own  being  to  take  on  humanity,  that  the 
flesh  which  was  to  be  associated  with  Him  and  filled 
with  the  everlasting  Lord,  but  was  then  animal  in 
its  nature  and  leading  a  debased  life,  might  [change 
it  after  its  Master's  example  and  in  like  body]  learn 
to  recognise  Him  as  sharer  of  its  earthly  features,  to 
know  Him  with  the  warranty  of  sight  as  partaker 
of  its  nature,  and  by  degrees  draw  nearer  to  Christ 
its  kinsman.  So  then  man  was  once  as  the  animals, 
but  now  the  Spirit  has  transformed  him  into  the 
nature  of  a  child  of  heaven  by  the  inpouring  of  God 
himself,  who  quickens  what  is  mortal.*  Now  a  new 
substance  embodied  by  the  spirit  of  God  \Wthin,  but 
yet  our  substance,  derived  from  a  virgin,  has  put 
off  the  corruption  that  infected  the  hfe  of  old  from 
its  beginning  and  of  its  own  spirit  assumes  the  good 
that  is  everlasting.  He  who  is  the  Son  of  Man  but 
also  Son  of  the  Thunderer  now  alone  looks  on  the 
face  of  the  Father  and  sees  Him,  None  knows  the 
Father  save  the  Son  and  him  to  whom  the  Son,  the 
mediator  between  us  and  the  Almighty,  shows  Him. 
In  fine,  to  put  the  whole  matter  in  short,  it  is  not  the 
Father  that  came  down  into  the  flesh,  but  the  flesh 
being  assumed  has  ascended  to  the  Father's  throne : 
the  Son  passed  both  ways. 

Yield,  thou  desecrator  of  Christ,  yield  now, 
Sabellius,'^  thou  that  dost  put  down  the  Father  and 
madly  deny  the  Son.  Dost  thou  not  do  violence  to 
the  Father  in  refusing  to  know  the  Son  ?     For  there 

*  See  the  note  on  line  5. 

133 


PRUDENTIUS 

quandoquidem  non  est  genitor,  nisi  filius  extet, 
nee  vocitare  patrem  potis  es  quern  germine  fraudas. 
sed  fortasse  velis  patriae  pietatis  honore 
despoliare  Deum,  contentus  nomine  nudo, 
quod  Deus  est,  adimasque  deeus  Patris  et  generis 

vim.  185 

ecquis  in  idolio  recubans  inter  sacra  mille 
ridiculosque  decs  venerans  sale,  caespite,  ture, 
non  putat  esse  deum  summum  et  super  omnia 

solum  ? 
quamvis  Saturnis  lunonibus  et  Cythereis, 
portentisque  aliis  fumantes  consecret  aras,  190 

attamen  in  caelum  quotiens  suspexit,  in  uno 
constituit  ius  omne  deo,  cui  serviat  ingens 
virtutum  ratio  variis  instructa  ministris. 
quae  gens  tam  stolida  est  animis,  tam  barbara 

Unguis, 
quaeve  superstitio  tam  sordida,  quae  caniformem  195 
latrantemque  throno  caeli  praeponat  Anubem  ? 
nemo  Cloacinae  aut  Eponae  super  astra  deabus 
dat  solium,  quamvis  olidam  persolvat  acerram 
sacrilegisque  molam  manibus  rimetur  et  exta. 
consule  barbati  deliramenta  Platonis,  200 

consule  et  hircosus  Cynicus  quos  somniat  et  quos 
texit  Aristoteles  torta  vertigine  nervos. 
hos  omnes  quamvis  anceps  labyrinthus  et  error 
circumflexus  agat,  quamvis  promittere  et  ipsi 
gallinam  soleant  aut  gallum,  clinicus  ut  se  205 

dignetur  praestare  deus  morientibus  aequum, 

"  In  the  later  paganism  belief  in  one  supreme  god  was 
prevalent,  and  many  regarded  the  gods  of  the  old  religion 
as  his  subordinate  agents.  See  Bailey,  Phases  in  the  Religion 
of  Ancient  Rome,  ch.  viii. 

*  An  Egyptian  divinity.     C/.  Aeneid  viii,  698. 

^34 


THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST  . 

is  no  begetter  if  there  be  no  son,  nor  canst  thou  call 
father  one  whom  thou  dost  deprive  of  offspring. 
But  perchance  thou  wouldst  rob  God  of  the  glory  of 
fatherly  love  and  be  content  with  the  bare  name  of 
God,  only  taking  from  Him  the  honour  of  fatherhood 
and  the  power  of  begetting.  Is  there  anyone  who, 
as  he  lies  in  a  heathen  temple  anaid  a  thousand  sacred 
objects,  or  worships  absurd  gods  with  salt  and  turf- 
altar  and  incense,  does  not  suppose  there  is  a  supreme 
god  who  stands  alone  above  all  things  ?  Though  he 
devote  smoking  altars  to  a  Saturn,  a  Juno,  a  Lady 
of  Cythera  and  other  monstrosities,  yet  whenever 
he  looks  up  to  the  sky  he  places  all  authority  in  one 
god,  whom  the  vast  system  of  powers  furnished  with 
diverse  agencies  obeys."  WTiat  race  is  so  dull  in 
mind  or  so  barbarous  in  speech,  what  superstition  so 
low,  as  to  set  forward  the  dog-shaped  barking  Anubis  * 
on  the  throne  of  heaven?  No  man  gives  a  seat  of 
power  above  the  stars  to  the  goddesses  Cloacina  or 
Epona,"  though  he  pay  an  offering  of  strong-smelling 
incense  and  dig  unholy  hands  into  the  sacred  meal 
and  the  entrails.  Consult  the  bearded  Plato's 
ra\-ings,  consult  the  close-drawn  reasonings  which  the 
stinking  Cynic  produces  in  his  illusion,  or  Aristotle 
contrives  in  a  dizzy  whirl.  Though  they  are  all  lost 
in  the  uncertainties  of  a  maze  in  which  they  wander 
round  and  round,  though  they  too  are  wont  to 
promise  a  hen  or  a  cock  that  the  physician-god  may 
deign  to  show  himself  gracious  to  them  on  their 

'  Cloacina  the  divinity  associated  with  the  great   drain 
{cloaca  maxima)  at  Rome,  Epona  with  stables  and  horses. 

^35 


PRUDENTIUS 

cum  ventum  tarn  en  ad  normam  rationis  et  artis, 
turbidulos  sensus  et  litigiosa  fragosis 
argumenta  modis  concludunt  numen  in  unum, 
cuius  ad  arbitrium  sphera  mobilis  atque  rotunda    210 
volvatur,  serventque  suos  vaga  sidera  cursus. 
non  recipit  natura  hominis,  modo  quadrupes  ille 
non  sit,  et  erecto  spectet  caelestia  vultu, 
non  recipit  neget  ut  regimen  pollere  supremum. 
istud  et  ipse  Numae  tacitus  sibi  sensit  haruspex,     215 
semifer  et  Scottus  sentit,  cane  milite  peior. 
sed  nos  qui  Dominum  libris  et  corpore  iam  bis 
vidimus,  ante  fide,  mox  carne  et  sanguine  ^  coram, 
quique  voluminibus  vatum  cruce  teste  probatis 
rimantes  digitos  costarum  in  vulnera  cruda  220 

mersimus,  et  manuum  visu  dubitante  lacunas 
scrutati  aeternum  regem  cognovimus  lesum, 
abiurare  Deo  titulum  nomenque  paternum 
credimus  esse  nefas,  qui  regem  protulit  ex  se, 
non  regem  populi  Parthorum  aut  Romulidarum,    225 
sed  regem  summae  et  mediae  rationis  et  imae, 
atque  ideo  rerum  dominum  et  super  omnia  regem. 
carnis  habet  medium,  summum  Patris,  et  Stygis 

imum. 
defluit  his  gradibus  rursusque  revolvitur  in  se ; 
est  Deus,  est  et  homo ;  fit  mortuus  et  Deus  idem 

est.  230 

1  The  Qth-centiiry  MS.  has  corpore. 

<•  Socrates'  last  words  (Plato,  Phaedo,  118)  were  a  request 
to  Crito  to  pay  a  cock  which,  he  said,  "  we  owe  to  Aescu- 
lapius." The  cock  was  really  a  thank-offering  made  by  persons 
136 


THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

death-beds,"  none  the  less,  when  they  come  to  the 
standard  of  reason  and  logic,  they  bring  their  muddy 
thoughts  and  their  contentious,  clamorous  arguments 
to  the  conclusion  that  there  is  one  di\"ine  power  by 
whose  control  the  round,  unresting  sphere  revolves 
and  the  planets  keep  their  courses.  Man's  nature 
does  not  admit — provided  he  is  not  a  grovelling 
beast  but  looks  at  the  heavenly  bodies  with  visage 
erect — I  say,  does  not  admit  of  denying  the  might 
of  a  supreme  governor.  Of  this  even  Xuma's  sooth- 
sayer was  conscious  in  his  heart,  and  so  is  the  half- 
bestial  Scot,  who  is  worse  than  a  dog  that  fights  in 
the  wars.  But  we,  who  have  now  twice  seen  the 
Lord,  in  the  scriptures  and  in  the  body,  first  by  faith 
and  then  in  flesh  and  blood  ^^■ith  us  and  who,  when 
the  books  of  the  prophets  were  proved  true  by  the 
witness  of  the  cross,  plunged  searching  fingers  into 
the  raw  wounds  in  his  side  and,  because  our  eyes 
doubted,  explored  the  holes  in  his  hands  and  recog- 
nised the  everlasting  king  Jesus,  beUeve  it  sin  to  deny 
the  title  and  name  of  Father  to  God  who  brought 
forth  our  king  from  himself — not  king  of  the  nation 
of  the  Parthians  nor  of  the  sons  of  Romulus,  but  king 
of  the  highest  and  of  the  middle  and  of  the  lowest 
realm,  and  therefore  Lord  of  creation  and  king  over 
all  things.  He  holds  the  middle  domain,  which  is 
that  of  the  flesh,  the  highest,  which  is  that  of  the 
Father,  and  the  lowest,  which  is  that  of  hell.  By 
these  degrees  He  passes  down  and  again  returns  to 
himself.     He  is  God,  He  is  man  also;   He  dies,  and 

who  had  been  cured  of  illness  through  sleeping  in  the  temple 
of  Aesculapius  at  Epidaurus.  Socrates  was  perhaps  alluding 
to  his  confident  belief  that  his  soul  would  survive ;  he  would 
awake  from  death  cured  of  the  ills  of  mortality. 

137 
f2 


PRUDENTIUS 

omnia  percurrit  naturae  munia  pronae, 
ut  sursum  Patris  in  gremium  replicata  reportet 
mortua  quae  fuerant,  ipsos  quoque  subvehat  artus. 
haec  fore  cum  veterum  ceeinissent  organa  vatum, 
nos  oculis,  manibus,  congressu,  voce,  loquella         235 
experti,  heroum  tandem  intelleximus  orsa 
priscorum  et  viso  patefacta  oracula  Christo. 
haec  est  nostra  salus,  hinc  vivimus,  hinc  animamur. 
hoc  sequimur :  numquam  detracto  nomine  Nati 
appellare  Patrem,  Patris  et  sine  nomine  num- 
quam 240 
Natum  nosse  Deum,  numquam  nisi  Sanctus  et 

unus 
Spiritus  intersit  Natumque  Patremque  vocare ; 
sic  tamen  haec  constare  tria,  ut  ne  separe  ductu 
tris  faciam,  tribus  his  subsistat  sed  Deus  unus. 
nee  Pater  ipse  autem  qui  FiUus,  ut,  quia  natum      245 
scimus  ab  innato,  vere  Pater  et  sata  vere 
sit  suboles,  nee  sit  genitor  sibi  Filius  ipse, 
perquam  ridiculum  est  et  futtile,  natus  ut  ex  se 
sive  supernatus  ^  fuerit,  sibi  ipse  repente 
nascendi  nova  materies,  ac  se  Deus  ultro  250 

ediderit  natumque  sibi  se  fecerit  ipsum. 
nil  falsum  aut  mendax  divina  vocabula  fingunt. 
qui  Pater  est,  gignendo  Pater,  tum  FiHus  ex  hoc 
Filius,  auctore  genitus  quod  sit  Patre  summo, 
summus  et  ipse  tamen ;  nee  enim  minor  aut  Patre 

dispar. 
unde  in  utroque  operis  forma  indiscreta,  nisi 

omnem  256 

^  8(/me  MS8.  of  both  Bergman's  classes  have  sive  pater  natus. 
138 


THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

still  is  God.  He  goes  through  all  the  functions  of 
mortal  nature  that  He  may  turn  again  and  bring  up 
to  the  Father's  bosom  all  that  was  dead,  and  raise 
up  the  very  bodies  also.  After  the  lyres  of  the  old 
prophets  had  foretold  these  things,  we,  having  found 
them  come  to  pass,  with  our  eyes  and  hands,  meeting 
Him  and  hearing  his  voice  and  speech,  understood 
at  last  the  words  of  the  valiant  men  of  old  and  the 
prophecies  that  were  made  plain  by  the  sight  of 
Christ.  This  is  our  salvation,  hence  it  is  that  we 
Hve  and  are  quickened.  This  is  the  rule  we  follow, 
never  to  address  the  Father  without  naming  the  Son, 
never  to  know  God  the  Son  without  naming  the 
Father,  never  to  call  on  the  Son  and  the  Father 
together  but  that  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  is  one  Avith 
them,  have  part  also ;  yet  that  these  so  exist  as 
three  that  I  must  not  make  three  Gods  by  separating 
them,  but  in  these  three  is  the  being  of  one  God. 
And  He  who  is  the  Son  is  not  the  Father  himself, 
that,  since  we  know  He  was  begotten  of  the  un- 
begotten,  there  may  be  true  Father  and  true 
begotten  Son,  and  the  Father  be  not  Son  to  himself. 
It  is  very  absurd  and  vain  to  suppose  that  He  should 
have  been  born  of  himself,  or  a  secondary  growth 
upon  himself,  suddenly  becoming  for  himself  a  new 
substance  of  birth,  and  that  God  should  have  brought 
forth  himself  and  made  himself  his  o^vn  Son.  The 
divine  names  make  no  false  or  lying  pretence.  He 
who  is  the  Father  is  Father  by  begetting,  and  the 
Son  is  Son  for  the  reason  that  He  was  begotten  and 
the  supreme  Father  is  the  author  of  his  being ; 
though  yet  He  himself  is  supreme  also,  for  He  is 
not  less  than  the  Father  nor  unequal  with  Him. 
How  could  the  shape  of  their  work  be  undistinguish- 

T39 


PRUDENTIUS 

vim  maiestatis  patriae  generosus  haberet 
Filius,  idque  Deus  genitor,  quod  Filius,  esset? 
pergunt  ulterius  scrutantes  quid  sit  id  ipsum 
gignere,  si  fas  est  humanos  tendere  sensus  260 

usque  ad  secretum,  quod  tempora  cuncta  diesque 
praevenit  antiquos,  et  principium  super  ipsum 
eminet  et,  quodcumque  potest  homo  quaerere, 

transit, 
cum  sit  difficilis  via  noscere  principiorum 
semina,  qui  dabitur  mortali  exquirere  quidnam     265 
ultra  principium  Deus  egerit,  aut  quo  pacto 
ediderit  Verbum,  quod  principio  caret  omni  ? 
hoc  solum  scimus,  quod  traditur  esse  Deum,  quem 
non  genitus  genitor  generaverit,  unus  et  unum, 
integer  integrum,  non  coeptum  sed  tamen  ortum,  270 
et  conperpetuum  retro  Patris  et  Patre  natum. 
sed  nee  decisus  Pater  est,  ut  pars  Patris  esset 
Filius,  extendens  nee  se  substantia  tractim 
produxit  minuitque  aliquid  de  numine  pleno, 
dum  mutata  novum  procudit  portio  Natum.  275 

non  convertibilis  nee  demutabilis  umquam 
est  Deus  aut  gignendo  aliquid  sibi  detrahit,  atqui 
totus  et  ex  toto  Deus  est,  de  lumine  lumen, 
quando    autem    lumen    sine    lumine  ?     quando 

refulgens 
lux  fulgore  caret  ?  quando  est  ut  proditus  ignis      280 
ignem  deminuat  ?  quando  Pater  et  Deus  et  lux 
non  lucis  Deus  et  Pater  est?   qui,  si  Pater  olim 
non  fuit,  et  serum  genuit  post  tempora  Natum, 
fit  novus,  inque  novum  ius  proficit.     absit,  ut 

umquam 
plenus  proficiat,  qui  non  eget  incremento.  285 

et  Deus  et  genitor  lumenque  et  gloria  semper 


140 


THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

able  in  both,  did  not  the  high-bom  Son  possess  all 
the  force  of  his  Father's  majesty,  and  were  not  God 
the  Father  that  which  the  Son  is  ?  Men  go  further, 
prying  into  the  very  meaning  of  begetting,  if  it  is 
lawful  to  stretch  human  thought  to  the  mystery  which 
precedes  all  times  and  days  of  old  and  stands  beyond 
the  very  beginning,  passing  all  the  wit  of  man  to 
search  out.  Since  it  is  hard  to  reach  an  understand- 
ing of  the  seeds  of  first  beginnings,  how  shall  it  be 
given  to  mortal  man  to  seek  out  what  God  did  before 
the  beginning,  or  how  He  gave  forth  the  Word, 
which  has  no  beginning  ?  This  alone  we  know  :  our 
tradition  tells  us  that  He  is  God  whom  the  un- 
begotten  Father  begot,  one  Father,'  one  Son,  perfect 
Father,  perfect  Son,  who  had  no  beginning  and  yet 
originated,  who  existed  eternally  in  time  past  equally 
with  the  Father  and  yet  was  born  of  the  Father. 
But  neither  was  the  Father  diminished,  so  that  the 
Son  would  be  a  portion  of  the  Father,  nor  did  his 
substance  extend  and  prolong  itself  and  deduct 
something  from  his  full  Godhead  bv  changing  a 
j>ortion  so  as  to  forge  a  new  being  in  the  Son.  God 
can  never  turn  nor  change,  nor  does  He  by  begetting 
subtract  something  from  himself;  but  He  is  whole 
God  bom  of  whole  God,  light  from  light.  And  when 
is  there  light  without  light  ?  \Mien  is  there  a 
shining  light  that  does  not  shine  ?  When  does  the 
flame  that  is  emitted  diminish  the  flame  ?  When  is 
He  who  is  Father  and  God  and  light  not  the  God  and 
Father  of  light  ?  If  once  He  was  not  Father,  and  late 
in  the  passage  of  time  begot  the  Son,  He  becomes 
what  He  was  not  before,  and  advances  to  a  new  status. 
Perish  the  thought  that  He  who  is  perfect  and  needs 
no  enlargement  can  ever  advance  I     Both  God  and 


PRUDENTIUS 

ille  fuit,  nee  post  sibi  contulit  ut  Pater  esset. 

sic  fit  ut  aeternum  credamus  cum  Patre  Christum, 

illo  auctore  satum,  cui  nullus  praefuit  auctor. 

haec  tu  si  dubitas  Nati  mysteria  Christi,  290 

perdite,  catholica  non  es  de  plebe,  sed  unus 

de  grege  turifero,  venerator  Deucalionum, 

devotus  cippo,  ficulni  stipitis  unctor. 

quin  potius  scrutare  Dei  signacula  in  ipso 

fonte  vetustatis,  percurre  scrinia  primi  295 

scriptoris,  quern  non  bardus  pater  aut  avus  augur, 

fabula  nee  veteris  famae,  nee  garrula  nutrix, 

nee  sago  clangore  loquax  et  stridula  cornix 

rem  doeuere  Dei,  sed  coram  proditus  ipse, 

ipse  Deus  trepidum  mortalem  mitis  amico  300 

inbuit  adloquio  seque  ac  sua  summa  retexit. 

nimirum  meminit  scriptor  doctissimus  illo 

orbis  principio  non  solum  nee  sine  Christo 

informasse  Patrem  faeturae  plasma  novellae. 

"  fecit  "  ait  "  condens  hominem  Deus,  et  dedit  olli  305 

ora  Dei."     quidnam  est  aliud  quam  dicere  "  solus 

non  erat,  atque  Deo  Deus  adsistebat  agenti," 

cum    Dominus    faeeret    Domini    sub    imagine 

plasma  ? 
Christus  forma  Patris,  nos  Christi  forma  et  imago ; 
condimur  in  faciem  Domini  bonitate  paterna,        310 
venturo  in  nostram  faciem  post  saecula  Christo. 
possum  multa  sacris  exempla  excerpere  libris. 


"  Worship  of  the  dead  was  alien  to  the  old  Roman  religion, 
but  honours  were  paid  yearly  at  their  tombs.  In  imperial 
times,  however,  the  conception  of  the  dead  as  divine  appears. 
Cippiis  may  here  be  simply  a  derogatory  terra  for  an  idol  ("  a 

£ost ").     Deucalion,  though  not  a  divinity,  seems  to  be  used 
ere  contemptuously  as  a  type  of  mythical  personage. 

T42 


THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

Father  and  light  and  glory  He  ever  was,  nor  did 
He  afterwards  confer  fatherhood  on  himself.  Thus 
does  it  come  about  that  we  believe  Christ  eternal 
along  with  the  Father  and  begotten  of  Him  before 
whom  was  no  begetter.  If  thou  doubtest  these 
mysteries  of  Christ  the  Son,  abandoned  man,  thou 
art  not  of  the  Catholic  people,  but  one  of  the  crew 
of  incense-offerers,  a  worshipper  of  Deucalions, 
devotee  of  a  grave-stone,"  anointer  of  a  fig-tree 
stump.  Rather  scan  the  marks  of  God  in  the  very 
fount  of  antiquity,  run  through  the  collection  of 
books  of  the  earliest  of  writers,*  who  did  not  learn 
of  God  from  a  minstrel  sire  or  soothsaying  grand- 
sire,  nor  from  a  tale  of  old  tradition  nor  garru- 
ous  nurse,  nor  noisy  crow  that  chattered  with 
prophetic  cry,  but  God  himself  appearing  to  him 
graciously  instructed  the  trembling  mortal,  speaking 
to  him  like  a  friend,*^  and  revealed  himself  and  his 
majesty.  Clearly  the  well-informed  historian  tells 
us  that  in  that  beginning  of  the  world  it  was  not 
alone  nor  \*-ithout  Christ  that  the  Father  shaped  the 
figure  of  his  new  creation.  "  God,"  he  says,  "  in 
creating  made  man  and  gave  him  the  features  of 
God."  \\'hat  is  this  but  to  say  "  He  was  not  alone 
and  God  was  by  God's  side  in  the  work,"  since  the 
Lord  made  the  creature  in  the  image  of  the  Lord  ? 
Christ  is  the  figure  of  the  Father,  and  we  the  figure 
and  image  of  Christ ;  we  are  made  after  the  Ukeness 
of  the  Lord  by  the  goodness  of  the  Father,  and  Christ 
was  to  come  into  our  likeness  after  ages  of  time.  I 
can  pick  many  an  instance  from  the  holy  books,  if 

*  I.e.  Moses,  in  the  Pentateuch. 

*  Cf.  Exodus  xxxiii,  11. 


i-MSL 


I  ^JdJi^r^t^ 


PRUDENTIUS 

ni  refugis,  quae  te  doceant  non  in  Patre  solo 
vim  maiestatis  positam,  sed  cum  Patre  Christum 
esse  Deum,  velut  illud  ait  genealogus  idem :  315 

"  a     Domino     Dominus     flammam     pluit     in 

Sodomitas." 
quis  Dominus,  de  quo  Domino,  si  solus  ab  area 
siderea  spectat  Pater  aut  ardescit  in  iras  ? 
Filius  armatam  Domini  Patris  ignibus  iram 
spargebat  Dominus  :  sunt  unum  fulmen  utraque.   320 

Haec  si  ludaicos  sic  intellecta  rigassent 
auditus  stupidas  ut  possent  ^  tangere  fibras, 
audissent  Dominum  virtutum,  qui  pereuntes 
venerat  ut  servaret  oves ;   sed  ab  auribus  omnis 
fluxerat  ornatus,  caput  et  iam  coctile  Bahal  325 

finxerat  auriculasque  suo  spoliarat  honore. 
dux  populi  peccantis  adest  de  monte  corusci 
luminis  adloquioque  Dei,  tabulasque  tremendo 
incisas  digito  caeca  ad  tentoria  defert, 
sed  cadit  in  faciem  plebs  non  visura  profundae       330 
legis  in  effigie  scriptum  per  enigmata  Christum, 
infelix,  quae  luce  oculos  praestricta  paventes 
texerit  et  presso  faciem  velarit  amictu ! 
at  nos  reiecto  Christum  velamine  coram 
cernimus  atque  Deum  vultu  speculamur  aperto,     335 
nee  sub  lege  gravi  depressa  fronte  iacemus, 
sed  legis  radium  sublimi  agnoscimus  ore. 
heu,  frondosa  prius  ramis  felicibus  arbos, 
pinguibus,  heu,  quondam  radix  oleagina  bacis  ! 
ecce  tibi  inserto  revirescit  nunc  oleastro  340 

^  The  two  oldest  MSS.  have  possint. 

"»  From  this  point  to  line  551  Prudentius  attacks  the  Jews 
for  their  rejection  of  Christ. 

»  Cf.  Exodus  xxxii.  '  CJ.2  Corinthians  iii,  14-18. 

144 


THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

you  do  not  turn  your  back  on  them,  to  prove  to  you 
that  the  potency  of  majesty  lies  not  in  the  Father 
alone,  but  that  Christ  is  God  with  the  Father,  such 
as  the  statement  of  the  same  author  of  Genesis : 
"  The  Lord  rained  fire  from  the  Lord  upon  the 
Sodomites."  Wliat  Lord,  and  from  -what  Lord,  if  the 
Father  alone  looks  from  the  throne  of  heaven  or 
blazes  into  anger?  The  Lord  the  Son  was  hurling 
the  wrath  of  the  Lord  the  Father,  armed  with  fire. 
The  two  thunderbolts  are  one. 

Had  these  truths  soaked  the  ears  of  the  Jews  ** 
and  been  understood  sufficiently  to  touch  their  dull 
heartstrings,  they  would  have  listened  to  the  Lord  of 
the  heavenly  powers,  who  had  come  to  save  the  sheep 
that  were  being  lost;  but  all  the  trappings  had 
vanished  from  their  ears  and  gone  to  fashion  a  cast 
head  of  Baal,**  robbing  the  ears  of  their  honour.  The 
sinning  people's  leader  appears  from  the  mountain 
of  flashing  light  and  from  hearing  the  speech  of  God, 
bringing  down  to  their  blinded  tents  the  tablets 
graven  by  that  a^\•ful  finger ;  but  the  people  fall  on 
their  faces  and  will  not  see  Christ  written  symbolically 
in  the  figure  of  the  law's  mysterj'.  Unhappy  race, 
in  that  they  covered  their  trembling  eyes  before  the 
dazzling  light  and  pressed  close  their  garments  to 
veil  their  faces !  But  we  have  thrown  back  the  veil 
and  see  Christ  in  person,  looking  upon  God  with 
countenance  uncovered,*  nor  do  we  he  with  head 
bowed  down  under  the  weight  of  the  law,  but  with 
face  lifted  up  we  recognise  the  law's  splendour. 
Alas  for  the  tree  that  was  once  so  leafy,  its  branches 
so  fertile  !  Alas  for  the  root  of  the  ohve  whose  fruits 
were  once  so  rich !  Lo,  since  the  wild  olive  was 
grafted  on  thee,  thy  stem  flourishes  again  and  is 

145 


PRUDENTIUS 

truncus  et  externi  vestitur  cortice  libri. 

iam  miserere  tui.     non  se  silvestris  olivi 

surculus  exultans  alieno  stipite  iactat, 

sed  monet  ut  generis  proprii  memor  unguine  amaro 

contristare  comas  desuescas,  stirpe  nee  irao  345 

invideas  missis  in  celsa  cacumina  virgis. 

blasphemas  Dominum,  gens  ingratissima, 

Christum, 
pascha  tuum  die,  die,  cuius  de  sanguine  festum 
tarn  sollemne  tibi  est?    quis  tandem  caeditur 

agnus 
anniculus  ?   sacer  ille  tibi  redeuntibus  annis,         350 
sed  sacer  in  pecude.     stultum  est  sic  credere 

sacrum, 
sanguine  balantis  summos  contingere  postes, 
lascivire  choris,  similaginis  azymon  esse, 
cum  fermentati  turgescant  crimine  mores, 
non  sapis,  inprudens,  nostrum  te  effingere  pascha,  355 
legis  et  antiquae  praeductis  pingere  sulcis 
omne  sacramentum  retinet  quod  passio  vera, 
passio,  quae  nostram  defendit  sanguine  frontem 
corporeamque  domum  signato  conlinit  ore  ? 
hanc  fugit  exclusis  Aegyptia  plaga  procellis,!         360 
haec  regis  Pharii  regnum  ferale  resolvit, 
deque  potestatis  mundanae  grandine  densa 
eripit  Abraham  cum  stirpe  et  gente  fideli. 
Abrahae  genus  est  verum,  cui  sanguis  in  ore 
creditus  inscriptusque  rubet,  cui  visus  in  orbe  365 

haud  dubitante  fide  Deus  est,  Deus  ex  Patre 

verus. 
ille  Deum  vidit,  visum  mox  credidit :   at  tu, 

1   Some  MSS.  have  flagellis. 


»  Cf.  Romans  xi,  13-24, 
146 


THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

clothed  with  a  covering  of  bark  that  is  strange  to  it. 
Have  pity  on  thyself  now.  The  scion  of  woodland 
olive  does  not  vaunt  itself,  glorying  in  a  stem  that 
is  not  its  o^vn,  but  gives  warning  that  thou  remember 
thy  stock,  cease  to  cloud  the  foliage  with  a  bitter 
coating,  and  envy  not,  deep  in  thy  trunk,  the  shoots 
that  rise  to  high  tops."  Thou  dost  blaspheme  the 
Lord  Christ,  ungrateful  race.  Thy  Passover — say, 
say,  whose  is  the  blood  that  makes  it  a  feast  so  holy 
in  thine  eyes  ?  What  is  the  yearling  lamb  that  is 
slain  ?  Thou  boldest  it  sacred  each  returning  year, 
but  it  is  sacred  as  a  beast.  It  is  folly  to  believe  there 
is  aught  sacred  in  i;ouching  the  tops  of  thy  doorposts 
with  a  lamb's  blood,  in  making  merry  %\ith  song  and 
eating  unleavened  bread,  while  thy  conduct  is  rising 
with  the  leaven  of  sin.  Art  thou  so  ignorant  as  not 
to  understand  it  is  our  Passover  thou  dost  represent  ? 
That  in  the  lines  drawn  before  by  the  old  law  thou 
dost  portray  all  the  mystery  contained  in  the  true 
passion,  that  passion  which  protects  our  foreheads 
with  blood  and  smears  it  on  our  bodily  dwelling  in 
a  mark  on  the  brow  ?  *  It  is  from  this  that  the 
Egyptian  plague  flees,  its  violence  shut  out ;  it  is 
this  that  gives  release  from  the  deathly  rule  of  the 
king  of  Egypt,  and  from  the  thick  hail  falling  on  the 
power  of  this  world  saves  Abraham  and  his  stock 
and  faithful  people.  The  true  descendant  of 
Abraham  is  he  on  whose  brow  the  mark  of  the  blood 
in  which  he  has  trusted  is  written  in  red,  who  with 
assured  faith  has  seen  God  in  the  world,  true  God 
bom  of  the  Father.     Abraham  saw  God  and  straight- 

*  The  sign  of  the  cross,  made  on  the  forehead,  is  compared 
to  the  smearing  of  the  blood  of  the  Iamb  on  the  lintels  of 
the  doors  (Exodus  xii,  7). 

147 


PRUDENTIUS 

posteritas  carnis,  carnaliter  omnia  cernens, 
carnis  opus  sub  lege.geris,  quam  spiritus  inplet 
interior ;   nee  enim  caelo  lex  carnea  fluxit,  370 

quam  tu  carne  colis,  sed  Christo  feta  meamque 
spem  paritura  utero.     quam  spem,  nisi  numinis 

almum 
lumen  et  adventum  Domini,  quem  viderat  Abrae 
prima  fides,  nostrisque  Pater  promiserat  olim 
perspieiendum  oculis  et  legis  voce  probandum  ?    375 
nee  solum  legis  ;  nam  quae  iam  littera  Christum 
non   habet,   aut   quae   non   scriptorum   armaria 

Christi 
laude  referta  novis  celebrant  miracula  libris  ? 
Hebraeus  pangit  stilus,  Attica  copia  pangit, 
pangit  et  Ausoniae  facundia  tertia  linguae.  380 

Pilatus  iubet  ignorans  "I,  scriba,  tripictis 
digere  versiculis  quae  sit  subfixa  potestas, 
fronte  crucis  titulus  sit  triplex,  triplice  lingua 
agnoscat  ludaea  legens  et  Graecia  norit 
et  venerata  Deum  percenseat  aurea  Roma."         385 
quidquid  in  aere  cavo  reboans  tuba  curva  remugit, 
quidquid  ab  arcano  vomit  ingens  spiritus  haustu, 
quidquid  casta  chelys,  quidquid  testudo  resultat, 
organa  disparibus  calamis  quod  consona  miscent, 
aemula  pastorum  quod  reddunt  vocibus  antra,       390 
Christum  concelebrat,  Christum  sonat,  omnia 

Christum 
muta  etiam  fidibus  Sanctis  animata  loquuntur. 
o  nomen  praedulce  mihi !   lux  et  decus  et  spes 

148 


THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

way  believed  he  had  seen  Him;  but  thou,  who  art 
his  descendant  after  the  flesh,  seest  all  things  in  the 
way  of  the  flesh  and  doest  the  work  of  the  flesh 
under  a  law  which  is  only  fulfilled  by  a  spirit  within ; 
for  it  is  not  a  carnal  law  that  came  doA^Ti  from  heaven, 
the  law  which  thou  dost  honour  in  the  flesh,  but  one 
pregnant  with  Christ,  that  should  give  birth  to  my 
hope.  And  what  hope,  but  the  kindly  hght  of  the 
Godhead  and  the  coming  of  the  Lord,  whom  Abra- 
ham's faith  had  been  the  first  to  see,  and  the  Father 
had  promised  should  one  day  be  seen  by  our  eyes 
and  proved  by  the  voice  of  the  law  ?  And  not  of  the 
law  only ;  for  what  literature  now  does  not  contain 
Christ  ?  What  book-case  is  not  filled  ^nth  the  praise 
of  Christ,  celebrating  his  wonderful  works  in  new 
books  ?  The  Hebrew  pen,  the  fulness  of  Athens,  and 
third  the  eloquent  tongue  of  Italy  are  all  composing 
them.  Pilate  in  his  ignorance  gives  command  :  "Go, 
scribe,  set  out  in  lines  thrice  inscribed  what  power 
it  is  that  is  crucified.  On  the  head  of  the  cross  let 
there  be  a  threefold  superscription;  in  the  three 
tongues,  as  they  read,  let  Judaea  recognise  and 
Greece  know  God,  and  golden  Rome  worship  Him 
while  she  scans  the  words."  All  the  loud  music  that 
sounds  in  the  curved  "  trumpet's  hollow  metal,  all 
that  the  great  deep-dra\vn  breath  pours  forth,  all  the 
ringing  notes  of  holy  harp  and  lyre,  all  the  mingled 
harmony  of  unequal  organ-pipes,  all  the  songs  that 
grottos  in  rivalry  re-echo  to  the  shepherds'  voices, 
proclaim  Christ  and  sound  Christ's  name ;  even  all 
dumb  things  are  quickened  by  the  holy  music  and 
speak  of  Christ.  O  name  passing  sweet  to  me,  my 
light  and  glory  and  hope  and  my  shield!     O  sure 

'  But  the  tuba  properly  so  called  was  a  straight  instrument. 

149 


PRUDENTIUS 

praesidiumque  meum,  requies  o  certa  laborum, 
blandus  in  ore  sapor,  fragrans  odor,  inriguus  fons,   395 
castus  amor,  pulchra  species,  sincera  voluptas ! 
si  gens  surda  negat  sibi  tot  praeconia  de  te, 
tam  multas  rerum  voces  elementaque  tantae 
nuntia  laetitiae  stolidas  intrare  per  aures, 
audiat  insanum  bacchantis  energima  monstri,       400 
quod  rabidus  clamat  capta  inter  viscera  daemon, 
et  credat  miseranda  suis.     torquetur  Apollo 
nomine  percussus  Christi,  nee  fulmina  Verbi 
ferre  potest ;  agitant  miserum  tot  verbera  linguae, 
quot  laudata  Dei  resonant  miracula  Christi.         405 
intonat  antistes  Domini  "  fuge,  callide  serpens, 
exue  te  membris,  et  spiras  solve  latentes. 
mancipium  Christi,  fur  corruptissime,  vexas. 
desine,  Christus  adest,  humani  corporis  ultor: 
non  licet  ut  spolium  rapias,  cui  Christus  inhaesit.    410 
pulsus  abi,  ventose  liquor  ;  Christus  iubet,  exi." 
has  inter  voces  medias  Cyllenius  ardens 
eiulat,  et  notos  suspirat  luppiter  ignes. 
ecce  Gerasenos  legio  ruit  effera  porcos, 
et  post  multiplices  busti  sub  rupe  catenas,  415 

poenarum  gemitus  longis  grunnitibus  edit, 
clamarat,  sed  ab  ore  hominis  "  cognoscimus,  lesu 
nate  Deo,  nate  sceptris  et  germine  David, 
quid  sis,  quid  venias ;   qua  nos  virtute  repellas 
novimus,  adventusque  tui  terrore  iacemus."  420 

haec,  ludaea,  tuas  vox  non  pervenit  ad  aures? 
pervenit,  mentem  sed  non  penetravit  egenam 
lucis,  et  a  primis  foribus  disclusa  refugit. 

"  Cf.  Mark  i,  23  ff.,  v,  1  ff. 

*  Mercury.     For  the  description  of  the  gods  of  the  pagans 
as  "  devils ''  (Sat'yxovcs,  8at/xo'vta)  cf.  1  Corinthians  x,  20-21. 


150 


I 


THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

repose  from  toil,  sweet  savour  in  the  mouth,  fragrant 
perfume,  spring  of  Ufe-giving  water,  pure  love, 
beauteous  form,  delight  unmixed !  If  a  race  that 
is  deaf  says  that  all  this  proclaiming  of  Thee,  all  these 
voices  of  nature,  these  elements  that  bring  tidings 
of  joy  so  great,  enter  not  its  dull  ears,  then  let  it  hear 
the  wild  monster's  demoniacal  raving,  the  cries  of  the 
raging  devil  in  the  flesh  he  has  taken  captive,"  and 
let  it,  poor  creature,  believe  its  own !  Apollo  writhes 
when  the  name  of  Christ  smites  him,  he  cannot  bear 
the  lightnings  of  the  Word,  the  lashing  tongue 
torments  him  sorely  whenever  the  praises  of  the  God 
Christ's  wonderful  works  are  sounded.  The  priest 
of  the  Lord  thunders:  "Away,  cunning  serpent! 
Quit  his  body,  and  undo  thy  hidden  coils.  He  whom 
thou  are  disquieting,  thou  corrupt  thief,  is  Christ's  pro- 
perty. Give  over,  for  Christ  is  here  to  avenge  man's 
body.  Thou  may'st  not  make  spoil  of  him  to  whom 
Christ  cleaves.  Away !  Thou  art  beaten,  vain 
spirit.  Christ  commands:  go  out  of  him."  In  the 
midst  of  these  words  he  of  Cyllene  *  burns  and  shrieks, 
and  Jupiter's  breath  is  hot  with  the  fires  he  knows 
so  well.  See,  the  wild  legion  drives  the  Gerasene 
swine  headlong,  and  after  the  manifold  chains  that 
bound  it  in  the  rock-tomb,  vents  in  long-drawn 
grunts  the  anguish  of  its  punishment.  It  had  cried 
out,  but  with  the  man's  lips,  "  We  know  what  Thou 
art,  Jesus,  the  Son  of  God,  born  of  David's  royal 
stock,  and  why  Thou  comest.  We  know  the  power 
wherewith  Thou  dost  drive  us  away,  and  are  cast 
down  with  dread  at  thy  coming."  Has  not  this  utter- 
ance, Judaea,  reached  thine  ears?  Yes,  but  not 
penetrated  to  thy  darkened  understanding;  it  was 
shut  out  and  fled  back  from  the  outer  door.     He  that 

151 


PRUDENTIUS 

audiit  adventum  Domini,  quern  solis  Hiberi 
vesper  habet,  roseos  ^  et  qui  novus  excipit  ortus.     425 
laxavit  Scythicas  verbo  penetrante  pruinas 
vox  evangelica,  Hyrcanas  quoque  fervida  brumas 
solvit,  ut  exutus  glacie  iam  mollior  amnis 
Caucasea  de  cote  fluat  Rhodopeius  Hebrus. 
mansuevere  Getae,  feritasque  eruenta  Geloni         430 
lacte  mero  sitiens  exsanguia  pocula  miscet 
libatura  sacros  Christi  de  sanguine  potus. 
novit  et  Atlantis  pridem  plaga  perfida  Mauri 
dedere  crinitos  ad  Christi  altaria  reges. 
ex  quo  mortalem  praestrinxit  Spiritus  alvum,         435 
Spiritus  ille  Deus,  Deus  et  se  corpore  matris 
induit  atque  hominem  de  virginitate  creavit, 
Delphica  damnatis  tacuerunt  sortibus  antra, 
non  tripodas  cortina  regit,^  non  spumat  anhelus 
fata  Sibyllinis  fanaticus  edita  libris,  440 

perdidit  insanos  mendax  Dodona  vapores, 
mortua  iam  mutae  lugent  oraeula  Cumae, 
nee  responsa  refert  Libycis  in  Syrtibus  Hammon. 
ipsa  suis  Christum  Capitolia  Romula  maerent 
principibus  lucere  Deum,  destructaque  templa      445 

^  Some  MSS.  have  roseus  et  quem. 

*  Many  of  the  older  editions  read  tegit  with  very  slight  MS. 
support. 

"  Prudentius  is  careless  about  the  geography.  The  Hebrus 
(Maritza)  is  a  Balkan  river. 

*  Ancient  statements  about  Delphi  (mainly  from  Roman 
times)  speak  of  a  chasm  or  cave,  from  which  vapours  arose 
and  inspired  the  priestess.  Modern  investigation  on  the  spot 
shows  that  there  was  at  most  a  small  underground  chamber, 


THE   DIVINITY  OF   CHRIST 

dwells  under  the  ■western  sun  of  evening  has  heard  of 
the  Lord's  coming,  and  he  that  welcomes  anew  the 
rosy  dawn.  The  sound  of  the  gospel  with  its  piercing 
word  has  loosened  the  frosts  of  Scythia,  and  its 
warmth  unlocked  the  H}Tcanian  printer,  so  that 
Rhodopeian  Hebrus,  freed  from  ice,  is  now  a  kindlier 
stream  as  it  flows  from  the  rocks  of  Caucasus."  The 
Getans  have  grown  peaceable  and  the  bloody, 
savage  Gelonian,  when  he  thirsts,  fills  bloodless  cups 
with  pure  milk,  for  he  will  taste  the  holy  draught  of 
the  blood  of  Christ.  The  once  treacherous  land  of 
Moorish  Atlas  has  learned  to  dedicate  its  long-haired 
kings  at  Christ's  altar.  Since  the  Spirit,  that 
Spirit  who  is  God,  touched  a  mortal  womb  and  God 
entered  into  a  mother's  body  and  by  a  \-irgin  made 
himself  man,  the  cavern  ^  of  Delphi  has  fallen  silent, 
its  oracles  condemned;  no  longer  does  the  cauldron 
direct  responses  from  the  tripod.  Xo  longer  does  a 
priest  possessed  utter  ^\^th  foaming  mouth  and 
panting  breath  "  fates  dra\\Ti  from  Sibylline  Books. 
Lying  Dodona  has  lost  its  maddening  vapours.  Cumae 
is  dumb  and  mourns  for  its  dead  oracles,  and  Ammon 
returns  no  answer  in  the  deserts  of  Libya.  The  verj' 
Capitol  at  Rome  laments  that  Christ  is  the  God  who 
sheds  light  for  her  emperors  and  her  temples  have 

and  the  theory  of  intoxicating  vapours  is  ruled  out  by  the 
geological  nature  of  the  site.  The  cortina  was  a  basin-shaped 
seat  on  which  the  priestess  sat,  supported  by  the  tripod. 
Even  by  Cicero's  time  the  oracle  had  much  declined  {De 
Divinatione,  I,  37;  II,  117),  and  like  the  others  it  had  really 
ceased  to  function  long  before  it  was  formally  abolished. 
(Parke,  History  of  the  Delphic  Oracle.) 

'  This  language  is  not  appropriate  to  the  Quindecimviri 
who  had  charge  of  the  Sibylline  Books  at  Rome  and  who 
consulted  them  when  so  instructed  by  the  senate. 


PRUDENTIUS 

imperio  cecidisse  ducum.     iam  purpura  supplex 

sternitur  Aeneadae  rectoris  ad  atria  Christi, 

vexillumque  crucis  summus  dominator  adorat. 

principibus  tamen  e  cunctis  non  defuit  unus 

me  puero,  ut  memini,  ductor  fortissimus  armis,    450 

conditor  et  legum,  celeberrimus  ore  manuque, 

consultor  patriae,  sed  non  consultor  habendae 

relligionis,  amans  ter  centum  milia  divum. 

perfidus  ille  Deo,  quamvis  non  perfidus  orbi, 

augustum  caput  ante  pedes  curvare  Minervae       455 

fictilis  et  soleas  lunonis  lambere,  plantis 

Herculis  advolvi,  genua  incerare  Dianae, 

quin  et  Apollineo  frontem  submittere  gypso 

aut  Pollucis  equum  suffire  ardentibus  extis. 

forte  litans  Hecaten  placabat  sanguine  multo ;      460 

pontificum  festis  ferienda  securibus  illic 

agmina  vaccarum  steterant,  vitulasque  revincta 

fronte  coronatas  umbrabat  torta  cupressus. 

iamque  insertato  reserarat  viscera  cultro 

vittatus  de  more  senex  manibusque  cruentis         465 

tractabat  trepidas  letali  frigore  fibras, 

postremosque  animae  pulsus  in  corde  tepenti 

callidus  interpres  numeris  et  fine  notabat: 

cum  subito  exclamat  media  inter  sacra  sacerdos 

pallidus  "  en  quid  ago  ?  maius,rex  optime,  maius  470 

numen  nescio  quod  nostris  intervenit  aris 

quam  sufFerre  queant  spumantia  cymbia  lacte, 

"  The  ordinances  against  paganism  did  not  extend  to  the 
destruction  of  temples ;  indeed  it  was  the  emperors'  intention 
that  they  should  be  preserved  (c/.  Contra  Symmachum  I,  501— 
5,  referring  to  statues  of  gods  as  works  of  art).  Jerome  refers 
to  the  Capitoline  and  other  temples  at  Rome  in  terms  which 
do  not  imply  more  than  neglect.  But  there  was  much 
unauthorised  spoliation  in  different  places.  See  Dill,  Roman 
Society  in  the  last  Century  of  the  Western  Empire,  p.  32 


THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

fallen  in  ruins  at  her  leaders'  command."  Now  the 
successor  of  Aeneas,  in  the  imperial  purple,  prostrates 
himself  in  prayer  at  the  house  of  Christ,  and  the 
supreme  lord  adores  the  banner  of  the  cross.  Yet 
of  all  the  emperors  one  ^  there  was  in  my  boyhood, 
I  remember,  a  brave  leader  in  arms,  a  lawgiver, 
famous  for  speech  and  action,  one  who  cared  for  his 
country's  weal,  but  not  for  maintaining  true  religion, 
for  he  loved  myriad  gods.  False  to  God,  however 
true  to  the  world,  he  would  bend  the  head  of  majesty 
before  Minerva's  feet,  would  Uck  a  clay  Juno's 
sandals,  grovel  at  the  feet  of  Hercules,  wax  the 
knees  of  Diana, '^  and  bow  before  a  plaster  Apollo  or 
smoke  Pollux's  **  horse  with  the  burning  of  entrails. 
It  chanced  that  he  was  at  sacrifice,  making  propiti- 
ator}- offering  to  Hecate  with  much  blood,  and  cows 
had  stood  there  in  columns  waiting  to  be  struck  with 
I  the  priests'  ceremonial  axes,  and  calves  with  cypress 
■twined  in  wreaths  binding  and  shading  their  heads. 
Already  the  old  man,  wearing  his  ritual  head-bands, 
had  put  in  the  knife  and  laid  open  the  inward  parts, 
and  with  blood-stained  fingers  was  handling  the 
tissues  still  palpitating  in  the  chill  of  death,  and  like 
skilled  interpreter  counting,  till  they  stopped,  the 
last  life-beats  in  the  heart  as  it  grew  cold,  when 
suddenly  in  the  midst  of  the  rites  the  priest  turned 
pale  and  cried  "  \\'hat  do  I  do?  Some  greater 
godhead,  O  best  of  princes,  is  interfering  with  our 
sacrifice,  yea  greater  than  bowls  of  frothing  milk,  the 

*  Julian  the  Apostate  (361-363). 

*  A  reminiscence  of  Juvenal  {Sat.  10,  55)  referring  to  the 
torn  of  writing  a  petition  on  a  wax  tablet  and  laying  it 
the  knees  of  the  image. 

*  But  it  is  Castor  who  is  the  horseman  {Iliad,  III,  237). 

155 


PRUDENTIUS 

caesarum  sanguis  pecudum,  verbena,  coronae. 
accitas  video  longe  dispergier  umbras, 
territa  Persephone  vertit  vestigia  retro  475 

extinetis  facibus,  tracto  ^  fugitiva  flagello. 
nil  agit  arcanum  murmur,  nil  Thessala  prosunt 
carmina,  turbatos  revocat  nulla  hostia  manes, 
nonne  vides  ut  turibulis  frigentibus  ignis 
marceat,  ut  canis  pigrescat  pruna  favillis  ?  480 

ecce  Palatinus  pateram  retinere  minister 
non  valet,  elisa  destillant  balsama  dextra, 
flamen  et  ipse  suas  miratur  vertice  laurus 
cedere,  et  incertum  frustratur  victima  ferrum. 
nescio  quis  certe  subrepsit  Christicolarum  485 

hie  iuvenum ;   genus  hoc  hominum  tremit  infula 

et  omne 
pulvinar  divum.     lotus  procul  absit  et  unctus ; 
pulchra  reformatis  redeat  Proserpina  sacris." 
dixit,  et  exsanguis  conlabitur  ac,  velut  ipsum 
cerneret  exerto  minitantem  fulmine  Christum,      490 
ipse  quoque  exanimis  posito  diademate  princeps 
pallet  et  adstantes  circumspicit,  ecquis  alumnus 
chrismatis  inscripto  signaret  tempora  ligno, 
qui  Zoroastreos  turbasset  fronte  susurros. 
armiger  e  cuneo  puerorum  flavicomantum,  495 

purpurei  custos  lateris,  deprenditur  unus, 

1  Some  MS8.  oj  both  classes  have  fracto. 


"  Identical  with  Hecate  as  goddess  of  the  world  of  the 
dead. 

*  Cf.  Lactantius,  Divinae  Institutiones,  IV,  27  :  "  When 
they  are  sacrificing  to  their  gods  and  some  one  is  standing  by 
whose  forehead  has  been  crossed,  the  rites  are  ineffectual 
and  the  soothsayer  cannot  read  the  entrails." 

■56 

I 


THE  DIVINITY   OF  CHRIST 

blood  of  slaughtered  cattle,  holy  herbs  and  wreaths 
can  bear.  I  see  the  spirits  -vve  summoned  being 
scattered  far  away.  Persephone  "  is  affrighted  and 
turns  her  steps  back,  her  torches  put  out,  her  scourge 
trailing  as  she  flees.  Of  no  avail  is  our  secret, 
muttered  prayer,  vain  our  Thessalian  spells ;  no 
offering  can  call  back  the  routed  spirits.  Seest  thou 
not  how  the  flame  is  wasting  away  in  the  cold  censers, 
the  fire  dying  in  the  white  ashes  ?  See,  the  servant 
of  the  palace  cannot  hold  the  bowl ;  his  hand  is 
broken  and  lets  the  balsams  spill  over.  The  very 
flamen  wonders  at  his  bay-leaves  slipping  from  his 
head,  and  the  victhn  disappoints  the  unsteady  knife. 
Surely  some  young  worshipper  of  Christ  has  stolen 
upon  us ;  this  sort  of  men  the  priestly  fillet  and  the 
gods'  couch  ever  fear.*  Let  any  that  is  washed  and 
anointed  depart,  and  let  the  rites  be  renewed  and 
fair  Proserpine  return."  So  saying,  he  fell  strength- 
less  to  the  ground,  and  the  emperor  himself,  as 
though  he  saw  the  ver}-  Christ  menacing  him  with 
thunderbolt  outstretched,  turned  pale  as  death,  and 
laying  aside  his  diadem  looked  round  upon  the  by- 
standers, to  see  whether  there  was  any  child  of 
unction  whose  brow  bore  the  sign  of  the  cross  and 
who  had  disordered  the  muttered  words  of  Persian 
ritual."  One  man-at-arms  out  of  the  company  of 
flaxen-haired'*  lads,  guarding  the  emperor's  person, 
was  found  and  denied  not,  but  threw  away  his  pair  of 

"  Under  Julian  there  was  a  revival  of  the  cult  of  Mithras, 
which  had  its  origin  in  the  old  religion  of  Persia.  See  Dill, 
op.  cit.  p.  67;  Bailey,  Phases  in  the  Religion  of  Ancient  Rome, 
p.  204. 

'  I.e.  German.  Even  Augusttis  and  some  of  his  early 
successors  had  a  personal  guard  of  Germans. 


PRUDENTIUS 

nee  negat,  et  gemino  gemmata  hastilia  ferro 
proicit  ac  signum  Christi  se  ferre  fatetur. 
prosiluit  pavidus  deiecto  antistite  princeps 
marmoreum  fugiens  nullo  comitante  sacellum,       500 
dum  tremefacta  cohors  dominique  oblita  supinas 
erigit  ad  caelum  facias  atque  invocat  lesum. 
iamne    piget    facti  ?    iam    paenitet  ?      en    tibi 

Christum, 
infelix  ludaea,  Deum,  qui  sabbata  solvens 
terrea  mortales  aeterna  in  sabbata  sumpsit,         505 
gentibus  emicuit,  praefulsit  regibus,  orbem 
possidet,  imperii  dominam  sibi  cedere  ^  Romam 
conpulit  et  simulacra  deum  Tarpeia  subegit. 
disce  tuis,  miseranda,  malis,  quo  vindice  tandem 
vana  superstitio  lex  et  carnaliter  acta  510 

plectatur,  cuius  virtus  te  proterat  ultrix. 
destructone  iacent  Solomonia  saxa  metallo 
aedificata  manu?    iacet  illud  nobile  templum, 
cur  iacet  ?    artificis  quia  dextra  solubilis  illud 
caementum  struxit  resolubile  ;  iure  solutum  est     515 
et  iacet,  in  nihilum  quoniam  redit  omne  politum. 
quod  fieri  recipit,  recipit  quandoque  perire. 
si  nostrum  contra  quod  sit  vis  discere  templum, 
est  illud  quod  nemo  opifex  fabriliter  aptans 
conposuit,  quod  nulla  abies  pinusve  dolata  520 

texuit,  exciso  quod  numquam  marmore  crevit ; 
cuius  onus  nullis  fultum  sublime  columnis 
fornice  cui'vato  tenui  super  arte  pependit, 
sed  Verbo  factum  Domini ;  non  voce  sonora, 
sed  Verbo,   quod  semper  erat.     Verbum  caro 

factum  est.  525 

^  Some  MSS.  of  both  classes  have  credere. 
158 


THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

lances  with  jewelled  shafts  and  acknowledged  that 
he  bore  the  seal  of  Christ.     The  emperor  leapt  for- 
ward in  fear,  upsetting  the  priest  and  fleeing  from 
the    marble    shrine    with    no    attendant,    while    his 
trembling    retinue,    forgetting    their    master,    with 
heads  bent  back  raised  their  faces  towards  heaven 
and  called  upon  Jesus.     Dost  thou  not  now  loathe 
thy  deed  ?     Dost  thou  not  now  repent  ?     There  thou 
seest  Christ,  unhappy  Judaea,  as  God,  who,  doing 
away  the  earthly  Sabbath,  has  taken  mankind  to  an 
eternal  Sabbath.     He  has  flashed  upon  the  nations, 
his  glory  has  shone  before  kings ;   He  possesses  the 
world,  and  has  constrained  imperial  Rome  to  yield 
to   Him,  and  subdued  the  images  of  gods  on  her 
Tarpeian  Hill.     Learn  from  thy  ills,  poor  creature, 
by  whose  vengeance  it  is  that  vain  superstition  and 
carnal    keeping    of   the    law   are   punished,   whose 
avenging  power  it  is  that  tramples  upon  thee.     Do 
not  Solomon's  stones,  that  were  built  up  by  hand, 
,i  lie  in  ruins,  his  metal-work  destroyed  ?     That  famous 
I  temple  lies  in  ruins.     And  why  ?     Because  it  was  a 
f'  craftsman's  perishable  hand  that  framed  that  perish- 
i  able  work  of  stone.     Justly  has  it  perished  and  now 
i  lies  in  ruins,  since  every  work  of  art  turns  again  to 
)■  nothingness ;    that  which  admits  of  being  made  is 
.'  bound  one  day  to  perish.     If  on  the  other  hand  thou 
wouldst  learn  what  our  temple  is,  it  is  one  that  no 
'  workman  built  up  piece  by  piece  \^ith  the  skill  of 
his  craft,  no  fabric  of  hewn  fir  or  pine,  nor  ever  rose 
out  of  quarried  marble.     It  is  one  whose  mass  does 
not  rest  high  up  on  pillars,  supported  with  deUcate 
skill  on  curving  arches.     It  is  made  from  the  Word 
of  the  Lord;    not  his  loud-sounding  voice,  but  his 
!  Word,  which  ever  lived.     The  Word  was  made  flesh. 

159 


PRUDENTIUS 

hoc  templum  aeternum  est,  hoc  finem  non  habet, 

hoc  tu 
expugnare  volens  flagris,  cruce,  felle  petisti. 
destructum  iacuit  poenis  vexantibus  :  esto, 
matris  enim  ex  utero  quod  destrueretur  habebat. 
sed  quod  morte  brevi  materna  ex  parte  solutum 

est  530 

maiestate  Patris  vivum  lux  tertia  reddit. 
vidisti  angelicis  comitatum  coetibus  alte 
ire  meum,  cuius  servor  munimine,  templum. 
illius  aeternae  suspendunt  culmina  portae, 
ac  per  inaccessas  scalarum  gloria  turres  535 

tollitur  et  gradibus  lucet  via  Candida  summis. 
at  tua  congestae  tumulant  holocausta  ruinae. 
quid  mereare  Titus  docuit,  docuere  rapinis 
Pompeianae  acies,  quibus  exstirpata  per  omnes 
terrarum  pelagique  plagas  tua  membra  feruntur.    540 
exiliis  vagus  hue  illuc  fluitantibus  errat 
ludaeus,  postquam  patria  de  sede  revulsus 
supplicium  pro  caede  luit,  Christique  negati 
sanguine  respersus  commissa  piacula  solvit. 
en  quo  priscorum  virtus  defluxit  avorum !  545 

servit  ab  antiquis  dilapsa  fidelibus  heres 
nobilitas,  sed  iam  non  nobilis  ;   ilia  recentem 
suspectat  ^  captiva  fidem.     vis  tanta  novellae 
credulitatis  inest ;    Christum  confessa  triumphat 
gens  infida  prius,  Christi  sed  victa  negatrix  550 

subditur  imperio  dominos  sortita  fideles. 

^  Bergman  reads  susceptat  with  the  6th-century  MS. 


"  Pompey  besieged  and  took   Jerusalem    in  63  B.C.,  but 
though  he  entered  the  Holy  of  Holies  he  did  not  rifle  the 

i6o 


I 


THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

This  is  the  temple  that  is  everlasting  and  without  end ; 
this  is  the  temple  thou  hast  attacked,  seeking  to  take 
it  ^^-ith  scourge  and  cross  and  gall.  It  was  cast  down 
in  destruction  by  tormenting  pains.  Be  it  so,  for 
from  the  mother's  womb  it  had  what  could  be  de- 
stroyed :  but  that  which,  of  the  mother's  part,  was 
undone  in  brief  death,  the  third  day  restores  to  life 
by  the  majesty  of  the  Father.  Thou  hast  seen  my 
temple,  by  whose  protection  I  am  saved,  rise  on  high 
with  companies  of  angels.  Everlasting  gates  support 
its  high  top,  glorious  stairs  rise  through  towers  in- 
violate, and  at  the  summit  of  the  steps  there  shines 
a  white  pathway.  But  thy  whole  burnt  offerings 
are  entombed  under  heaps  of  ruins.  What  thou  dost 
merit,  Titus  has  taught  thee,  and  Pompey's  armies  " 
have  taught  thee  with  their  rapine.  Rooted  out  by 
them,  thy  members  are  cai-ried  over  every  region  of 
land  and  sea.  From  place  to  place  the  homeless  Jew 
wanders  in  ever-shifting  exile,  since  the  time  when 
he  was  torn  from  the  abode  of  his  fathers  and  has 
been  suffering  the  penalty  for  murder,  and  having 
stained  his  hands  with  the  blood  of  Christ  whom  he 
denied,  paying  the  price  of  sin.  See  what  has  become 
if  the  virtue  of  his  forefathers  of  olden  times !  The 
noble  race  that  was  heir  to  the  faithful  men  of  old  has 
scattered  away  from  them  and  is  enslaved,  no  longer 
noble ;  it  is  in  captivity  under  the  younger  faith. 
Such  is  the  strength  the  new  beUef  possesses  ;  a  race 
that  formerly  was  unfaithful  now  confesses  Christ  and 
triumphs,  but  that  which  denied  Christ  is  conquered 
and  subdued  and  has  fallen  into  the  hands  of  masters 
who  keep  the  faith. 

Temple.     Titus  destroyed  the  city  in  a.d.  70.     The  dispersion 
of  the  Jews  had  been  in  process  long  before  that  date. 

l6l 
VOL.  I.  O 


PRUDENTIUS 

Sunt  qui  ludaico  cognatum  dogma  furori 
instituunt  media  Christum  ratione  secuti. 
hoc  tantum,  quod  verus  homo  est,  at  caelitus  ilium 
adfirmant  non  esse  Deum  ;  pietate  fatentur,         555 
maiestate  negant :   morum  pro  laude  sacratum 
concelebrant,  adimunt  naturae  sumnia  supernae. 
omne  opus  egregium,  per  quod  sollertia  pollens 
emicat,  ingenii  est  aut  roboris :  illud  acuto 
corde  viget,  duris  excellit  viribus  istud.  560 

mortale  est  sed  utrumque  homini;    nam  cana 

senescunt 
ingenia  et  validos  consumimt  saecla  lacertos. 
haec  nos  in  Domini  virtute  et  laude  perenni 
non  sequimur  :  sequimur  nullo  quod  semine  terrae 
germinat,  inmundum  quod  non  de  labe  \'irili        565 
sumit  principium ;   tener  ilium  seminat  ignis, 
non  caro  nee  sanguis  patrius  nee  foeda  voluptas. 
intactam  thalami  virtus  divina  puellam 
sincere  adflatu  per  viscera  casta  maritat ; 
inconperta  ortus  novitas  iubet  ut  Deus  esse         570 
credatur  Christus  sic  conditus.     innuba  virgo 
nubit  spiritui,  vitium  nee  sentit  amoris. 
pubertas  signata  manet ;   gravis  intus  et  extra 
incolumis,  florens  de  fertilitate  pudica, 
iam  mater,  sed  virgo  tamen,  maris  inscia  mater.    575 
quid  renuis  ?    quid  inane  caput,  non  credule, 

quassas  ? 
angelus  hoc  sancto  fore  nuntiat  ^  ore :   placetne 
credere  et  angelicis  aurem  reserare  loquellis  ? 

^  Scnne,  MSS.  of  both  classes  have  sancto  pronuntiat  (or 
praenuntiat). 

"  In  this  section  (552-781)  Prudentius  argues  against  the 
teaching  of  some  nominally  Christian  sects  among  the  Jews, 
who  denied  the  divine  birth  of  Christ  while  holding  that  his 
162 


THE   DIVINITY   OF  CHRIST 

Some  there  are  who  set  up  a  doctrine  akin  to  the 
Jews'  raving,  and  follow  Christ  by  a  middle  way." 
This  much  they  assert,  that  He  is  real  man,  but  they 
say  He  is  not  God  from  heaven.  In  respect  of  good- 
ness they  admit,  in  respect  of  majesty  they  deny; 
they  consecrate  and  honour  Him  for  the  merit  of  his 
character,  but  they  rob  Him  of  supreme  divinity. 
Now  ever\'  piece  of  excellent  work  through  which 
potent  skill  shines  forth  is  the  work  either  of  mind 
or  of  bodily  strength,  the  one  having  the  vigour  of 
keen  intelligence,  the  other  surpassing  in  hardy 
physical  power.  But  for  man  each  of  these  is  mortal, 
for  the  mind  groA/s  feeble  with  hoary  age,  and  time 
wastes  the  stout  arms.  This  is  not  the  beUef  that  we 
follow  in  the  case  of  our  Lord's  merit  and  eternal 
glor)\  We  believe  that  He  springs  from  no  earthly 
seed,  takes  no  unclean  beginning  from  sin-stained 
man.  It  is  the  subtle  fire  that  begets  Him,  not  a 
father's  flesh  nor  blood  nor  foul  passion.  The  di\dne 
power  weds  a  maid  inviolate,  breathing  its  pure  breath 
over  her  untainted  flesh.  The  strange  mystery  of  his 
birth  bids  us  beUeve  that  the  Christ  thus  conceived 
is  God.  The  unwedded  maid  is  wedded  to  the  Spirit 
and  feels  no  taint  of  passion.  The  seal  of  her  virgin- 
ity remains  unbroken ;  pregnant  within,  she  is  un- 
touched without,  blossoming  from  a  pure  fertility,  a 
mother  now,  but  still  a  maiden,  a  mother  that  has 
not  known  husband.  WTiy  dost  thou  deny  ?  Why 
shakest  thou  thy  foolish  head,  O  unbeUever?  An 
angel  with  holy  lips  proclaims  that  this  shall  be.  Wilt 
thou  not  beUeve,  and  unlock  thine  ear  to  the  angel's 

goodness  entitled  Him  to  be  called  the  Son  of  God.     See  the 
irticle  on  Ebionism  in  Hastings'  Encyclopedia  of  Religion  and 

Ethics. 

163 


PRUDENTIUS 

ipsa  coruscantis  monitum  sacra  virgo  ministri 
credidit  atque  ideo  concepit  credula  Christum ;    580 
credentes  nam  Christus  adit,  dubitabile  pectus 
sub  titubante  fide  refugo  contemnit  honore. 
virginitas  et  prompta  fides  Christum  bibit  alvo 
cordis  et  intactis  condit  paritura  latebris. 
crede  quod  emissus  solio  Patris  angelus  infit.        585 
vel,  si  concretus  liquidam  de  sidere  vocem 
non  capit  auditus,  mulier  quid  coniuge  praegnans 
clamet  anus  credens  et  tandem  sobrius  audi, 
mira  fides !    utero  puer  interceptus  aniU 
virgineum  Dominum  materno  ex  ore  salutat,         590 
primus  et  infantem  non  natus  nuntiat  infans 
iam  nostrum ;  ^   vagire  sibi  nam  pusio  nondum 
norat  et  ora  Deo  reserabat  garrula  Christo. 
promite  secretos  fatus ;  date,  pandite  librum, 
evomuit  spirante  Deo  quem  sanctus  Esaias.  595 

percensere  libet  calamique  revolvere  sulcos, 
sidereis  quos  ilia  notis  manus  aurea  duxit. 
ite  hinc,  dum  rutilos  apices  submissus  adoro, 
dum  lacrimans  veneror  dumque  oscula  dulcia  figo  ; 
gaudia  concipiunt  lacrimas,  dant  gaudia  fletum.    600 
advenit  promissa  dies  quam  dixerat  iste 
adfore  versiculus,  cum  virgo  puerpera,  teste 
haud  dubie  sponso,  pacti  cui  cura  pudoris, 
edidit,  Emmanuelque  meum  me  cernere  fecit, 
estne  Deus  iam  noster  ?  homo  versatur  et  adstat  605 
nobiscum  nomenque  probat  versumque  vetustis 
obscurum  saeclis  praesenti  inluminat  ore. 

^  The  stop  is  usually  placed  after  sibi,  not  after  nostrum. 
The  punctuation  in  the  text  is  due  to  M.  Lavarenne. 

«  Cf.  Luke  i,  41  fF. 

*  Cf.  Matthew  i;  18-20. 

164 


I 


THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

words  ?  The  holy  Virgin  herself  believed  the  shining 
minister's  prophecy,  and  therefore  because  of  her 
faith  she  conceived  Christ.  For  Christ  comes  to  those 
who  believe  ;  the  doubting  heart,  whose  faith  falters. 
He  rejects  and  will  not  honour.  Her  maidenhood 
and  ready  faith  drink  in  Christ  in  her  womb  and  lay 
Him  up  in  the  pure  secrecy  of  her  heart,  to  bring 
Him  forth  in  due  time.  Believe  what  the  angel  sent 
forth  from  the  Father's  throne  saith ;  or,  if  thy 
hearing  is  thickened  and  receives  not  the  clear  voice 
from  heaven,  be  sensible  at  last  and  hear  with  believ- 
ing ear  what  an  old  woman  pregnant  by  her  husband 
cries."  Marvel  of  faith ! — the  child  imprisoned  in 
the  aged  womb  greets  by  his  mother's  lips  his  Lord, 
the  maiden's  son ;  a  child  unborn  is  the  first  to 
proclaim  the  child  who  now  is  ours  ;  for  the  boy  could 
not  as  yet  utter  his  own  baby  voice  and  so,  in  honour 
of  the  God  Christ,  was  opening  lips  that  were  ready 
of  speech.  Bring  out  the  mystic  prophecies,  give  me 
the  book,  and  open  it,  that  holy  Esaias  uttered  under 
the  inspiration  of  God.  I  would  fain  peruse  it  and 
unroll  the  lines  which  that  golden  hand  traced  with 
the  pen  in  shining  characters.  Depart  ye  hence  while 
I  humbly  adore  the  glittering  letters,  doing  them 
reverence  with  tears,  and  imprint  on  them  loving 
kisses.  Joy  begets  tears,  joy  causes  weeping.  The 
promised  day  has  come,  which  that  verse  foretold, 
when  a  virgin  in  labour,  according  to  the  indubitable 
witness  of  her  betrothed,  who  was  solicitous  for  her 
affianced  modesty,*  brought  forth  a  child  and  caused 
me  to  see  my  Emmanuel.  Is  not  God  now  ours  ? 
As  man  He  lives  with  us  by  our  side  and  proves  his 
name,  illumining  with  his  presence  the  verse  that 
was  dark  to  generations  of  old.     Is  not  He  God, 

165 


PRUDENTIUS 

'estne  Deus,  cuius  cunas  veneratus  Eous 

lancibus  auratis  regalia  fercula  supplex 

virginis  ad  gremium  pannis  puerilibus  offert  ?         610 

quis  tam  pinnatus  rapidoque  simillimus  austro 

nuntius  Aurorae  populos  atque  ultima  Bactra 

attigit,  inluxisse  diem  lactantibus  horis, 

qua  tener  innupto  penderet  ab  ubere  Christus  ? 

"  vidimus  hunc  "  aiunt  "  puerum  per  sidera  ferri,  615 

et  super  antiques  signorum  ardescere  tractus." 

diriguit  trepidans  Chaldaeo  in  vertice  pernox 

astrologus,  cessisse  Anguem,  fugisse  Leonem, 

contraxisse  pedes  lateris  manco  ordine  Cancrum, 

cornibus  infraetis  domitum  mugire  luvencum,      620 

sidus  et  Hirquinum  laceris  marcescere  villis. 

labitur  hinc  pulsus  Puer  Hydrius,  inde  Sagittae, 

palantes  Geminos  fuga  separat,  inproba  Virgo 

prodit  amatores  tacitos  in  fornice  mundi, 

quique  alii  horrificis  pendent  in  nubibus  ignes        625 

Luciferum  timuere  novum :   rota  lurida  solis 

haeret,  et  excidium  sentit  iam  iamque  futurum, 

seque  die  medio  velandum  ^  tegmine  glauco, 

splendoremque  poli  periturum  nocte  diurna 

orbe  repentinis  caput  obnubente  tenebris.  630 

hunc  ego  non  cumulem  myrrhaeque  et  turis  et  auri 

muneribus?     scio     quem    videam,    quae    dona 

rependam. 
hunc  ego  non  venerer,  qui  caelo  visus  humique 
inventus  rex  atque  Deus  moderatur  utrumque 
naturae  specimen,  tumuloque  inferna  refringens   635 

^  So  the  oldest  MS.  and  some  others.     Most  have  velandam. 
1 66 


THE  DIVINITY   OF  CHRIST 

to  whose  cradle  the  East  does  reverence,  offering  on 
bended  knee  before  the  Virgin's  lap  kingly  gifts  on 
gilded  platters  for  the  child  in  swaddhng-clothes  ? 
What  winged  messenger,  swift  as  the  rushing  wind, 
came  to  the  peoples  of  the  morning  in  farthest 
Bactra  to  tell  them  a  day  had  dawned  whose  hours 
were  full  of  richness,  the  day  on  which  the  babe 
Christ  hung  on  a  breast  unwedded?  "We  have 
seen,"  they  said,  "  this  child  passing  over  the  sky 
and  outshining  the  trains  of  the  ancient  stars."  The 
astrologer  watching  all  night  on  a  height  in  Chaldaea 
felt  his  blood  curdle  with  alarm  when  he  saw  that 
the  Serpent  had  ^iven  place,  the  Lion  taken  to  flight, 
the  Crab  drawn  in  his  feet  in  a  crippled  row  along 
his  side,  that  the  Bull  was  roaring  in  defeat,  his  horns 
broken,  the  constellation  of  the  Goat,  with  his  hair 
torn,  fading  away.  Here  slides  off  in  retreat  the  Boy 
with  the  Water  Pot,  there  the  Arrows,  the  Twins 
wander  apart  in  flight,  the  false  Maiden  deserts  her 
silent  wooers  in  the  vault  of  heaven,  and  the 
other  blazing  orbs  hanging  in  awful  clouds  have 
feared  the  new  Morning  Star.  The  sun's  wan  disk 
stands  still  feeling  his  overthrow  close  at  hand,  con- 
scious that  he  is  to  be  curtained  with  a  veil  of  darkness 
at  noontide  and  the  brightness  of  the  sky  to  be  lost 
in  night  by  day  while  his  orb  covers  its  head  ^\'ith  a 
sudden  blackness."  Shall  I  not  load  this  child  with 
gifts  of  myrrh  and  incense  and  gold  ?  I  know  whom 
I  see,  and  what  gifts  to  offer  in  recognition.  Shall  I 
not  worship  Him  who  has  been  seen  in  the  heavens 
and  appeared  on  earth,  who  as  king  and  God  governs 
nature  in  both  her  shapes,  and  who  by  breaking  open 
the  realm  of  death  in  the  tomb  bids  them  that  are 

"  A  prophetic  allusion  to  the  time  of  the  crucifixion. 

167 


PRUDENTIUS 

regna  resurgentes  secum  iubet  ire  sepultos  ? 
caelum  habitat,  terris  intervenit,  abdita  rumpit 
Tartara.     vera  fides  ;  Deus  est,  qui  totus  ubique 

est. 
numquid  vana  viros  aut  mens  aut  lingua  fefellit  ? 
numquid  fortuitis  frustrantia  dona  dederunt  640 

casibus  aut  caeco  votum  sub  honore  diearunt? 
quae  porro  causa  aut  ratio  submittere  colla 
ante  pedes  Mariae  puerique  crepundia  parvi, 
si  tantum  mortalis  erat,  nee  summa  potestas 
inplebat  teneros  divinis  flatibus  artus  ?  645 

sed  iam  tolle  magos,  tus,  aurum,  myrrhea  dona, 
quae  verum  docuere  Deum,  praesepia,  pannos, 
matris  adoratum  gremium  face  sideris  ardens : 
ipsa  Deum  virtus  factorum  et  mira  loquantur. 
insanos  video  subito  mitescere  ventos  650 

cum  iubeat  Christus,  video  luctantia  magnis 
aequora  turbinibus  tranquillo  marmore  tendi 
imperio  Christi,  video  calcatus  eundem 
cum  patitur  gurges  tergum  solidante  liquore. 
ipse  super  fluidas  plantis  nitentibus  undas  655 

ambulat  ac  presso  firmat  vestigia  fluctu, 
increpat  ipse  notos,  et  flatibus  otia  mandat. 
quis  iubeat  saevis  aquilonibus  "  ite,  silete 
carceribus  vestris  amploque  facessite  ponto," 
sit  nisi  caelipotens  aquilonum  conditor  idem?       660 
ninguidus  agnoscit  Boreas  atque  imbrifer  Eurus 
nimborum  dominum  tempestatumque  potentem, 
excitamque  hiemem  verrunt  ridente  sereno. 
quis  pelagi  calcarit  aquas  ?   quis  per  vada  glauca 
gressibus  inpressis  spatiatus  triverit  udum  665 

i68 


THE  DIVINITY   OF  CHRIST 

buried  rise  and  go  with  Him  ?  He  dwells  in  heaven, 
He  Wsits  the  earth,  He  bursts  the  depths  of  hell.  It 
is  true  beUef :  He  is  God,  who  is  every^vhere  in  his 
wholeness.  Did  vain  thought  or  speech  deceive 
those  men  ?  Did  they  give  bootless  gifts  in  circum- 
stances that  were  mere  matter  of  chance,  or  dedicate 
their  offering  in  worship  that  was  bUnd  ?  What  cause 
or  reason  had  they  to  bend  their  heads  before  Mary's 
feet  and  the  little  one's  baby-things,  if  He  was  but 
human  and  the  supreme  power  was  not  filling  the 
tender  frame  with  the  breath  divine  ?  But  take 
away  the  A^ise  men,  the  incense,  the  gold,  the  gifts 
of  myrrh,  which  proved  Him  true  God,  the  manger, 
the  swaddling-clothes,  the  mother's  adored  bosom, 
that  shone  -snth  the  blaze  of  the  star :  yet  the  very 
power  of  his  acts,  his  very  miracles,  would  proclaim 
Him  God.  I  see  the  mad  winds  grow  suddenly 
gentle  when  Christ  commands.  I  see  the  seas, 
contending  under  violent  storms,  spread  out  in  calm 
expanse  at  Christ's  bidding.  I  see  the  deep  sub- 
mitting to  his  tread,  the  water  making  a  firm  surface. 
He  walks  on  the  flowing  waves,  resting  his  feet  on 
them  and  bearing  on  the  flood  with  firm  steps.  He 
rebukes  the  winds  and  bids  the  breezes  sink  to  rest. 
Who  would  give  command  to  the  raging  blasts,  "  Go, 
be  silent  in  your  prison-houses,  depart  ye  from  the 
broad  sea,"  were  he  not  also  the  creator  of  the  blasts, 
the  lord  of  the  heavens  ?  The  snovsy  north  ^\-ind, 
the  rainy  east,  recognise  the  lord  of  the  storm-clouds, 
the  ruler  of  the  tempests,  and  sweep  away  the  storm 
they  raised,  leaving  a  clear,  smiUng  sky.  Who  would 
tramp  the  waters  of  the  sea  ?  \Mio,  walking  over 
the  dark  deep  and  planting  the  weight  of  his  steps 
on  it,  would  tread  the  watery  path  without  sinking, 

169 
g2 


PRUDENTIUS 

non  submersus  iter,  sola  pendulus  et  pede  sicco, 

aequoreae  nisi  factor  aquae,  qui  Spiritus  olim 

ore  superfusus  patrio  volitabat  in  undis 

nondum  discretis  nee  certo  litore  clausis  ? 

sustinuit  gressum  Domini  famulus  liquor,  ac  se    670 

mobilitate  carens  solidos  substrinxit  ad  usus. 

quid  diversa  Dei  memorem  facta  inclyta  Christi  ? 

altius  inspecta  quae,i  maiestate  negator, 

haud   dubitans    horainem,    tute    ipse    fatebere 

numen. 
inlevit  caecos  oculos  et  lumina  limo  675 

reddidit  umectam  sacro  sputamine  terram 
contrectans  digitis  :   luteum  medicamen  operta 
nox  habuit,  tenebras  obducta  uligo  removit. 
insuper  ostendit  quonam  caligo  lavacro 
expurganda  foret.     variis  Siloa  refundit  680 

miomentis  latices,  nee  fluctum  semper  anhelat, 
sed  vice  distincta  largos  lacus  accipit  haustus. 
agmina  languentum  sitiunt  spem  fontis  avari, 
membrorum  maculas  puro  ablutura  natatu. 
certatim  interea  roranti  pumice  raucas  685 

exspectant  scatebras  et  sicco  margine  pendent, 
hoc  limum  iubet  inpositum  de  fonte  lavari 
Christus  et  infusa  vultum  splendescere  luce, 
norat  enim  limo  sese  informasse  figuram 
ante  tenebrosam,  proprii  medicamen  et  oris  690 

adiecisse  novo,  quem  primum  finxerat,  Adae. 
nam  sine  divino  Domini  perflamine  summi 
arida  terra  fuit,  nulli  prius  apta  medellae : 
sed  postquam  liquidus  caelesti  Spiritus  ore 
virgineam  respersit  humum,  medicabilis  ilia  est.      695 
inde  trahit  sucum  lentoque  umore  salutem 

^  quae  is  strongly  supported  hy  the   MSS.     Most  editions 
before  Bergman's  read  quem  with  slight  authority. 

170 


THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

his  soles  upheld  and  his  foot  dry,  were  it  not  the 
creator  of  the  waters  of  the  sea,  the  Spirit  who  once 
was  breathed  on  it  from  the  Father's  lips  and  moved 
to  and  fro  on  the  waves,  ere  yet  they  were  separated 
or  shut  off  by  a  defined  shore  ?  The  sea,  as  its  Lord's 
servant,  sustained  his  step,  and  stilled  and  checked 
itself  to  afford  firm  footing.  What  need  to  tell  of 
the  God  Christ's  manifold  glorious  works?  If  you 
look  deeper  into  them,  you  who  deny  in  point  of 
majesty  while  not  doubting  his  humanity,  you  will 
yourself  admit  they  are  divine.  He  smeared  blind 
eyes  and  with  mud  restored  their  sight,  working  with 
his  fingers  earth  that  was  moistened  with  his  sacred 
spittle ;  the  sightless  night  found  a  cure  in  mud, 
the  coating  of  wet  earth  removed  the  darkness.  He 
showed,  besides,  the  washing-place  that  was  needed 
to  cleanse  the  mists  away.  It  is  at  diverse  times  that 
Siloam  disgorges  its  waters ;  not  always  does  it  emit 
the  stream,  but  at  intervals  the  pool  receives  generous 
draughts.  Companies  of  the  sick  yearn  for  the  hope 
of  the  niggard  spring,  waiting  to  wash  away  their 
bodily  stains  by  bathing  in  its  purity.  Eagerly  mean- 
while they  look  for  its  loud  welling  from  the  dripping 
stone,  and  hang  over  the  dry  edge.  With  the  water 
of  this  spring  Christ  bids  wash  the  clay  He  laid  on, 
and  the  face  to  shine  with  the  inpouring  of  light ; 
for  He  knew  that  ^\ith  clay  He  had  formerly  shaped 
a  figure  that  was  darkened  until  He  gave  the  healing 
power  of  his  mouth  to  the  new  Adam  whom  first  He 
had  made.  For  without  the  divine  breath  of  the 
supreme  Lord  the  earth  was  dry  and  not  yet  fit  for 
heahng ;  but  since  the  pure  Spirit  issuing  from  the 
heavenly  lips  besprinkled  a  virgin's  soil,  it  has  the 
power  to  heal;   from  thence  it  draws  sap,  and  with 

171 


PRUDENTIUS 

inlinit,  infunditque  diem  baptismate  lota. 
caecus  adest  oculis  iam  Christi  ex  ore  retectis 
seque  luto  et  nitidis  lucem  sumpsisse  fluentis 
clamat,    et    auctorem   stupefacta   per  oppida 

monstrat,  700 

auctorem  lueis  largitoremque  dierum, 
non  dedignatum  medicae  purgamen  aquai 
corpore  sub  proprio  monstrare  errantibus  aegris. 
milibus  ex  multis  paucissima  quaeque  retexam, 
summatim  relegam  totus  quae  non  capit  orbis.    705 
quinque  in  deserto  panes  iubet  et  duo  pisces 
adponi  in  pastum  populis,  qui  forte  magistrum 
non  revocante  fame  stipabant  undique  saeptum, 
inmemoresque  cibi  vicos,  castella,  macellum, 
oppida,  mercatus  et  conciliabula  et  urbes  710 

respuerant,  largo  contenti  dogmate  vesci. 
multa  virum  strato  fervent  convivia  faeno, 
centenos  simul  accubitus  iniere  sodales, 
seque  per  innumeras  infundunt  agmina  mensas, 
pisciculis — iam  crede  Deum — saturanda  duobus    715 
et  paucis  crescente  cibo  per  fragmina  crustis. 
ambesis  dapibus  cumulatim  aggesta  redundant 
fercula,  bis  senos  micarum  molibus  inplent 
post  cenam  cophinos ;   crudus  conviva  resudat 
congeriem  ventris,  gemit  et  sub  fasce  minister.     720 
quis  cumulare  potest  epulas  in  grandia  parvas  ? 
quis,  nisi  qui  corpus  pastumque  et  corporis  omnem 
condens  ex  nihilo  nulla  existente  creavit 

172 


THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

its  clinging  moisture  spreads  salvation,  and  pours  in 
the  light  of  day  when  it  is  washed  in  baptism.  The 
bhnd  man  appears,  his  eyes  now  by  Christ's  mouth 
opened,  cni-ing  aloud  that  he  has  received  the  light 
by  means  of  clay  and  the  shining  waters,  and  declaring 
the  author  of  his  cure  through  the  astonished  towns, 
who  is  the  author  of  light  and  giver  of  day,  who  did 
not  disdain  to  show  forth  the  cleansing  \-irtue  of 
heaUng  water  in  his  o^^ti  body  to  suffering  sinners. 
Out  of  numberless  miracles  I  shall  narrate  but  a  very 
few,  recounting  briefly  works  which  the  whole  world 
cannot  contain.  Five  loaves  and  two  fishes  He  com- 
mands in  the  desert  to  be  served  to  feed  the  people, 
who  as  it  chanced  were  crowding  and  pressing  round 
their  teacher.  Hunger  could  not  call  them  back; 
with  no  thought  of  food,  they  had  turned  their  backs 
on  villages,  places  of  defence,  markets,  towns, 
centres  of  trade  and  trafficking,  and  cities,  and  were 
content  to  feed  on  the  bounty  of  his  teaching.  There 
is  a  busy  swarm  of  companies  feasting  together,  ^\^th 
the  parched  grass  beneath  them.  Like  bosom  friends 
they  have  joined  in  a  hundred  parties,  spreading  in 
their  crowds  in  countless  circles,  to  be  satisfied  with 
two  small  fishes  (believe  notv  that  He  is  God!)  and 
a  few  loaves  of  bread,  which  provide  more  and 
more  food  the  more  they  are  broken.  \Mien  they 
have  partaken  heartily  the  dishes  are  still  piled  high 
and  running  over  with  the  \iands ;  twelve  baskets 
they  heap  with  the  fragments  after  the  banquet ; 
while  the  cloyed  guest  is  exuding  the  mass  in 
his  belly,  the  server  groans  under  his  load.  \Mio 
can  magnify  a  little  meal  into  largeness  ?  \NTio 
but  He  who  is  the  maker  both  of  the  body  and  of 
all  that  feeds  the  body,  who  created  the  world  out 

173 


PRUDENTIUS 

mundum  materia?  non  sicut  sculptor  ab  aeris 
rudere  decoctam  consuescit  vivere  massam,  725 

sed  Deus  omnipotens  orbem  sine  semine  finxit. 
nil  erat  omne  quod  est :   nil  id  procedere  et  esse 
atque  novum  fieri,  mox  et  grandescere  iussum  est. 
parvum  de  nihilo  primum  fuit,  addita  parvo 
incrementa  modis  auxerunt  omnia  plenis.  730 

ergo  ego,  cum  videam  manibus  sic  crescere  Christi 
parva  alimenta  hominum,  possum  dubitare  per 

ipsum 
exiguas  rerum  species  elementaque  mundi 
ex  nihilo  primum  modica  et  mox  grandia  sensim 
crevisse,  ex  modicis  quae  consummata  videmus  ?   735 
ac  ne  post  hominum  pastus  calcata  perirent, 
neve  relicta  lupis  aut  vulpibus  exiguisve 
muribus  in  praedam  nuUo  custode  iacerent, 
bis  sex  adpositi,  cumulatim  qui  bona  Christi 
servarent  gravidis  procul  ostentata  canistris.         740 
sed  quid  ego  haec  autem  titubanti  voce  retexo, 
indignus  qui  sancta  canam  ?     procede  sepulcro, 
Lazare,  die  cuius  vocem  tellure  sub  ima 
audieris,  quae  vis  penetraverit  abdita  leti, 
quod,  cum  te  Christus  penitus  nigrante  profundo  745 
inmersum  vocat  ut  redeas,  ceu  proximus  audis, 
nee  remoratus  ades  ?   quae  tam  vicina  Charybdis 
regna  tenebrarum  tenui  distantia  fine 
coniungit  superis  ?    ubi  Taenara  tristia  vasto 
in  praeceps  deiecta  chao,  latebrosus  et  ille  750 


"  A  promontory  (Cape  Matapan)  in  the  south  of  the 
Peloponnese,  where  there  was  a  fabled  entrance  to  the  world 
of  the  dead. 

*  Phlegethon,  in  the  under-world. 


1 


THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

of  nothing  when  as  yet  there  were  no  materials  ? 
He  is  not  like  the  sculptor  who  brings  to  life  a 
block  that  has  been  smelted  from  crude  ore,  but 
as  God  almighty  He  made  the  world  without  seed. 
All  that  is  was  nothing,  and  that  nothing  was 
bidden  to  come  forth  into  being,  to  become  a  new 
thing,  and  then  to  grow  in  magnitude.  The  first 
creation  out  of  nothing  was  small,  and  enlarge- 
ments added  to  the  small  increased  all  things  in 
full  measure.  When,  therefore,  I  see  a  small 
supply  of  nourishment  for  men  thus  grow  under 
Christ's  hands,  can  I  doubt  that  by  Him,  too,  the 
small  forms  of  things  and  elements  of  the  world  first 
arose  in  smallness  out  of  nothing,  and  then  by  degrees 
grew  great,  which  now  we  see  from  small  beginnings 
made  perfect?  And  lest,  after  men  were  fed,  the 
blessings  of  Christ  should  be  trampled  on  and  wasted, 
or  left  to  he  uncared  for  and  become  the  spoil  of 
wolves  or  foxes  or  tiny  mice,  twelve  men  were  put  in 
charge  of  them,  to  gather  them  together  and  save 
them  and  display  them  in  laden  baskets.  But  why 
do  I  with  my  quavering  voice  recount  all  this,  un- 
worthy as  I  am  to  sing  of  holy  things  ?  Come  forth 
from  the  tomb,  Lazarus,  and  tell  whose  voice  it  is 
that  thou  hast  heard  deep  down  in  the  earth,  what 
force  it  is  that  has  reached  to  the  hidden  abode  of 
death,  that,  when  thou  art  sunk  in  the  dark  abyss 
and  Christ  calls  thee  to  return,  thou  hearest  as  though 
near  by,  and  without  delay  dost  present  thyself. 
What  gulf  so  near  unites  the  realm  of  darkness  to  the 
world  of  the  li\ang  with  but  a  slender  boundary 
between  ?  WTiere  is  the  gloomy  Taenarum "  that 
plunges  down  precipitously  into  the  desolation  of 
blackness,  and  that  unexplored  stream  *  that  rolls 


PRUDENTIUS 

amnis  inexpletis  volvens  incendia  ripis  ? 

ante  fores  tumuli,  quas  saxa  inmania  duro 

obice  damnarant  scopulis  substructa  cavatis, 

stat  Dominus  nomenque  ciet  frigentis  amici. 

nee  mora,  funereus  revolutis  rupibus  horror  755 

evomit  exequias  gradiente  cadavere  vivas. 

solvite  iam  laetae  redolentia  vincla,  sorores. 

solus  odor  sparsi  spiramen  aromatis  efflat, 

nee  de  corporeo  nidorem  sordida  tabo 

aura  refert,  oculos  sanie  stillante  solutos  760 

pristinus  in  speculum  decor  excitat,  et  putrefactas 

tincta  rubore  genas  paulatim  purpura  vestit. 

quis  potuit  fluidis  animam  suffundere  membris  ? 

nimirum  qui  membra  dedit,  qui  fictilis  ulvae 

perflavit  venam  madidam,  cui  tabida  glaeba  765 

traxit  sanguineos  infecto  umore  colores. 

o  mors  auritis  iam  mitis  legibus,  o  mors 

surda  prius,  iam  docta  sequi  quodcumque  iubetur, 

cui  tantum  de  te  licuit?   convicta  fatere 

esse  Deum,  solus  qui  me  tibi  praeripit,  lesum.      770 

abde  negatores  Christi,  nemo  invidet,  abde  ; 

utere  sorte  tua  blasphemis  nocte  tenendis 

perpetua.     plebem  iustorum  capta  resolve, 

qui    norunt    hominem    atque    Deum    sic     dicere 

Christum 
ut  verus  summusque  Deus  mortalia  gestet.  775 

ipse  gerit  quod  struxit  opus,  nee  ferre  pudescit 
factor  quod  peperit,  corpus  loquor  atque  animae 

vim. 
finxerat  hoc  digitis,  animam  sufflaverat  ore. 

176 


I 


THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

fire  between  its  banks  insatiate  ?  Before  the  doors 
of  the  tomb,  on  which  monstrous  stones,  blocking 
the  chambered  rock,  had  imposed  an  impenetrable 
barrier,  stands  the  Lord  and  calls  the  name  of  his 
friend  now  cold  in  death.  Straightway  the  stones  roll 
back  and  the  fearsome  grave  sends  forth  a  hving 
corpse,  the  dead  man  walking!  Undo  now  in  joy, 
you  his  sisters,  the  perfumed  bands.  The  scent  of  the 
sprinkled  spice  is  the  only  breath ;  no  foul  air  brings 
any  stench  of  bodily  corruption.  The  eyes  that  were 
wasted  with  oozing  decay  revive  and  shine  bke  a  mir- 
ror with  their  old-time  beauty,  and  a  bright  tinge  of 
red  gradually  clothes  the  cheeks  that  were  putrefied. 
Who  has  been  able  to  pour  life  on  the  decaying  body  ? 
Doubtless  He  who  gave  the  body,  who  breathed 
through  the  wet  substance  of  the  slime  He  moulded, 
at  whose  command  the  crumbling  earth,  impregnated 
with  moisture,  took  on  the  hue  of  Ufe.  O  Death, 
grown  gentle  now,  and  whose  authority  Ustens  to 
orders,  Death  that  wert  aforetime  deaf,  but  now  hast 
been  taught  to  obey  command,  to  whom  has  such 
power  over  thee  been  given  ?  Confess  in  thy  defeat 
that  Jesus,  who  alone  saves  me  from  thy  hands,  is 
God.  Put  away  them  that  deny  the  Christ ;  no 
man  grudges  them  to  thee ;  put  them  away.  Use 
the  power  that  falls  to  thee  to  keep  the  blasphemers 
in  unending  night.  But  now  that  thou  art  made  cap- 
tive, release  the  multitude  of  the  righteous,  who  have 
learned  to  call  Christ  both  man  and  God,  meaning 
thereby  that  the  true  and  supreme  God  has  put  on 
mortality.  He  himself  wears  the  work  He  made, 
and  the  creator  thinks  no  shame  to  bear  what  He 
brought  to  being,  I  mean  the  body  and  the  living 
soul.     The  body  He  had  shaped  with  his  fingers,  the 

177 


PRUDENTIUS 

totum  hominem  Deus  adsumit,  quia  totus  ab  ipso 

est, 
et     totum     redimit     quern     sumpserat,     omne 

reducens,  780 

quidquid    homo    est,    istud    tumulis,    ast    illud 

abysso. 
Occurrit  dubitans  hie  dissertator  et  illud 
obicit,  anne  fides  capit  ut  substantia  flante 
inspirata  Deo  cruciatum  sentiat,  utque 
inferni  petat  ima  poli  barathroque  coquatur?        785 
crede  animam  non  esse  Deum,  sed  crede  creatis 
maiorem  cunctis,  ipsam  quoque  crede  creatam. 
formata  est  namque  ore  Dei,  quae  non  erat  ante, 
sed  formata  habitu  pulcherrima  pictaque  rebus 
divinis,  et  plena  Deo  similisque  creanti,  790 

non  tamen  ipsa  Deus,  quoniam  generatio  non  est, 
sed  factura  Dei  est ;   solus  de  corde  Parentis 
Filius  emicuit ;   verus,  verus  ^    Deus  ille. 
conlatum  est  animae,  subito  ut,  quae  non  erat, 

esset. 
ille  coaeternus  Patris  est  et  semper  in  ipso,  795 

nee  factus  sed  natus  habet  quodcumque  paternum 

est, 
hace    similis    velut    umbra    Dei    est.     sic   ipse 

locutus 
factor,  utroque  hominem  meditans  de  figmine 

iunctim 
aedificare  sui  similem ;   sed  non  habet  umbra 
quod  corpus  solidum,  cuius  imitatio  in  umbra  est,  800 
atque  aliud  verum  est,  aliud  simulatio  veri. 
est  similis  saeclis  quod  non  consumitur  ullis, 
quod  sapiens  iustique  capax  reginaque  rerum 

^  MSS.  of  class  B  have  verus  Deus  ille  sed  istud.     Some 
MSS.  of  class  A  have  both  versions  combined. 

178 


THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

soul  He  breathed  upon  it  with  his  mouth.  God 
takes  upon  Him  the  whole  man,  because  man  is  wholly 
from  Him ;  and  redeems  the  whole  man  whom  He 
took  on,  bringing  back  all  that  man  is,  the  body  from 
the  tomb,  the  soul  from  the  pit. 

Here  **  a  doubting  disputant  comes  up  with  this 
objection:  does  the  faith  admit  the  view  that  the 
being  breathed  into  us  by  the  breath  of  God  feels 
torment,  goes  to  the  depths  of  the  world  below,  and 
is  roasted  in  hell?  You  must  believe  that  the  soul 
is  not  God,  but  that,  while  it  is  greater  than  all 
created  things,  it  too  was  created.  For  it  was  made 
by  the  mouth  of  God ;  it  did  not  exist  before,  but 
was  made,  beauteous  in  form,  adorned  with  qualities 
divine,  filled  with  God,  and  like  its  creator,  yet  not 
itself  God,  since  it  is  not  a  begetting  but  a  creation 
of  God.  The  Son  alone  came  forth  from  the  Father's 
heart ;  He,  He  is  true  God.  It  was  given  to  the 
soul  that,  not  being  before,  it  should  suddenly  come 
into  being ;  but  the  Son  is  co-eternal  with  the  Father 
and  ever  in  Him ;  not  created  but  born.  He  has  all 
that  belongs  to  his  Father;  whereas  the  soul  is  a 
sort  of  semblance  in  the  likeness  of  God.  Thus 
spoke  its  maker  himself  when  He  planned  to  con- 
struct man  in  his  own  image  of  the  two  created 
elements  in  union ;  but  the  semblance  has  not  that 
which  the  real  object  has,  of  which  there  is  but  a 
copy  in  the  semblance ;  reality  is  one  thing,  the 
likeness  of  reaUty  is  another.  It  is  like  God  in 
that  no  time  can  waste  it,  in  that  it  is  wise  and 
capable  of  righteousness,  and  sits  like  a  queen  on 

"  The  preceding  topic  leads  oa  to  a  discussion  of  the  nature 
of  the  soul  (lines  78^951). 

179 


PRUDENTIUS 

imperat,  ante  videt,  perpendit,  pi'aecavet,  infit, 
verborum  morumque  opifex  instructaque  mille    805 
artibus  et  caelum  sensu  percurrere  docta, 
his  animam  similem  sibi  eonditor  effigiavit, 
cetera    dissimilem :     quippe    hanc    conprendere 

promptum  est, 
quam  modus  et  species  determinat,  at  Deus  ingens 
atque  superfusus  trans  omnia  nil  habet  in  se        810 
extremum,  ut  claudi  valeat  sensuve  teneri. 
inconprensa  manet  virtus,  cui  linea  defit 
ultima,  quam  spatium  non  mensurabile  tendit. 
ergo  animam  factam,  magno  et  factore  minorem 
maioremque  aliis  atque  omnibus  imperitantem,    815 
corruptela  putris  nascentem  turbida  carnis 
concipit,  ac  membris  tabentibus  interfusam 
participat  de  faece  sua ;   fit  mixta  deinde 
peccandi  natura  luto  cum  simplice  flatu. 
sed  fortasse  animam,  Domini  quia  fluxit  ab  ore,     820 
conpositam  factamque  neges,  velut  ipsa  Dei  pars, 
quod  dictu  scelus  est,  taetras  trahat  oblita  culpas 
et  pessum  damnata  ruens  chaos  intret  opertum. 
sit  res  ilia  Dei,  non  abnuo;    pars  tamen  ilia 
haudquaquam  dicenda  Dei  est,  quae  tempore 

coepit,  825 

nee    prior    aut    senior    quam    primum    plasma 

putanda  est. 
tunc  etenim  factam  video,  cum  cordis  amici 
intravit  germana  domum  limique  recentis 
hospita  et  ipsa  recens  fraterna  sedit  in  aula, 
ilia  quidem  flatus  Domini  est,  sed  spiritus  et  vis    830 
non  est  plena  Dei,  tanto  moderamine  missa 
i8o 


THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

the  throne  of  the  world ;  it  sees  before,  thinks, 
takes  heed,  speaks,  contrives  words  and  laws,  is 
furnished  with  a  thousand  forms  of  skill  and  can 
traverse  the  heavens  in  thought.  In  these  respects 
the  creator  fashioned  the  soul  Uke  himself,  but  other- 
wise unlike.  For  it  is  easy  to  grasp  the  soul,  which 
is  bounded  by  limit  and  form ;  but  God,  being  great 
and  extending  beyond  all  things,  has  no  extremity  in 
Him  by  which  He  can  be  enclosed  or  laid  hold  of  by 
thought.  His  power  remains  beyond  our  grasp,  since 
it  has  no  bounding  line  and  reaches  through  infinite 
space.  The  soul,  then,  is  created,  it  is  both  less  than 
its  great  creator  and  greater  than  other  creatures  and 
rules  over  them  all ;  but  at  its  birth  the  foul  corruption 
of  the  flesh,  which  is  subject  to  decay,  receives  it, 
and  when  it  has  passed  into  the  wasting  body,  makes 
it  partaker  of  its  own  impurity.  Then  sin  comes 
about,  because  it  arises  from  the  mingling  of  the 
clay  and  the  pure  spirit.  But  perchance  you  would 
say  that,  since  the  soul  flowed  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Lord,  it  was  not  made  nor  created ;  but  that  would 
mean  that  a  very  part  of  God  contracts  the  stain  of 
foul  sins,  a  thing  which  it  is  ^\•icked  to  assert,  and 
is  condemned  and  cast  down  into  the  dark  depths  of 
hell.  Granted  that  it  belongs  to  God  (for  that  I 
deny  not),  yet  that  which  has  had  a  beginning  in 
time  is  not  to  be  called  a  part  of  God,  nor  thought 
of  as  earlier  or  older  than  the  beginning  of  the  body. 
Plainly  it  was  created  at  the  time  when,  like  a  sister, 
it  entered  the  abode  of  the  friendly  heart  and  settled 
in  the  home  of  its  brother  to  sojourn  mth  the  newly- 
formed  clay,  itself  also  newly-formed.  It  is  indeed 
the  breath  of  God,  but  not  the  spirit  and  full  power 
of  God,  since  it  issued  under  control  whereby  in 

l8i 


PRUDENTIUS 

quanto  jflans  voluit  flandi  servare  tenorem. 
est  inpossibile  spectare  profunda  Sabaoth, 
sed  speculum  Deitatis  homo  est :  in  corpore  discas 
rem  non  corpore  am  sollers  interprete  Christo       < 
qui  Patrem  proprium  mortali  in  corpore  monstrat. 
perspice  quam  varios  fundamus  ab  ore  vapores, 
spiramus  quotiens  animae  sufflabilis  auras, 
nunc  flatum  tepidum  calor  exhalatus  anhelat, 
rorantes  nebulas  udis  de  faucibus  efflans ; 
cum  libet,  in  gelidum  flabrali  frigore  ventum 
spiritus  existit  tenuis  et  sibilat  aer. 
adde  et  distinctum  quem  musica  tibia  flatum 
concipit :  aut  ille  est  presso  modulamine  parcus, 
aut  tumidum  largo  sublimat  flamine  bombum, 
aut  raucos  frangit  modulos,  aut  lene  susurrat, 
aut  exile  trahens  sonitus  producit  acutos, 
aut  murmur  tenerum  sublidit  voce  minuta. 
haec  cum  te  videas  mortali  in  corpore  posse, 
cur  non  aeternum  potuisse  infundere  credas 
qualem  animam  voluit?   praescriptis  quam  quia 

condens 
efflavit  fuditque  modis,  sit  facta  necesse  est. 
denique    multa    sapit,    sed    non    sapit    omnia 

nostra  e 
vis  animae,  certum  sapere  ac  praenoscere  iussa. 
iam  cui  certus  inest  modus  et  cui  nosse  negatum 

est 
omnia,  factura  est ;   nam  condita  et  aucta  pro- 

batur. 
collige  de  simili,  sitne  haec  factura.     creavit 
nempe  manus  Domini  corpus  mortale  lutumque 
conposuit  digitis.     numquid  manus  articulatim 
est  digesta  Dei  ?    numquid  vola  ?    numquid  et 

ungues 

182 


THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

breathing  He  willed  to  maintain  the  level  of  his 
breathing.  It  is  impossible  to  look  into  the  depths 
of  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  but  man  is  a  mirror  of  God- 
head. In  the  body  we  may  come  to  know  something 
that  is  not  bodily,  if  we  acquire  skill  under  the 
guidance  of  Christ,  who  shows  his  Father  in  a  mortal 
body.  Consider  how  diverse  are  the  exhalations  we 
pour  from  our  mouths  in  the  emission  of  the  breath 
we  breathe.  At  one  time  hot  breath  exhales  a  warm 
air,  blowing  out  moist  clouds  from  our  wet  throat ; 
when  we  choose,  thin  breath  issues  as  a  chill  wind 
blo^ving  cold,  and  the  air  whistles.  There  is,  too,  the 
differing  breath  of  the  musical  pipe  :  either  it  is  slight, 
keeping  the  music  do\vn,  or  with  great  blowing  it 
raises  a  loud  swelling  sound ;  it  utters  harsh,  rough 
strains,  or  a  gentle  whisper,  or  taking  in  a  meagre 
breath  it  brings  out  shrill  notes,  or  with  tone  reduced 
it  just  squeezes  out  a  soft  murmur.  \STien  you  see 
yourself  able  to  do  these  things  in  a  mortal  body, 
why  should  you  not  beheve  that  the  Everlasting 
could  pour  into  man  what  breath  He  would?  And 
since  in  his  act  of  creation  He  breathed  and  poured 
it  forth  in  appointed  measures,  it  must  needs  have 
been  created.  And  again,  our  soul  has  power  to 
understand  many  things,  but  not  all  things ;  only 
up  to  a  point  was  it  bidden  to  have  understanding 
and  fore-knowledge.  Now  in  as  much  as  it  has  in 
it  a  definite  limit  and  is  denied  complete  knowledge, 
it  is  a  creation,  for  it  is  proved  to  have  been  brought 
into  being  and  developed.  You  may  gather  from  a 
comparison  whether  or  no  it  is  a  creation.  We  say, 
to  be  sure,  that  the  hand  of  the  Lord  made  the  human 
body  and  with  its  fingers  moulded  the  clay.  Is  God's 
hand,  then,  arranged  in  jointed  parts?     Has  it  a 

183 


PRUDENTIUS 

claudere  flexibiles  patulam  seu  tendere  palmam  ? 
ista  figura  manus  nostrae  est,  quam  non  habet 

in  se 
incircumscriptus   Dominus ;    sed  tradita    forma 

est 
humanis  quae  nota  animis  daret  intellectum,^ 
ut  per  corpoream  speciem  plasmasse  feratur  ^ 

corporis  effigiem.^     sic  est  plasmata  vicissim 
flatu  incorporeo  res  flabilis,  oris  et  esse 
fertur  opus,  tenuis  per  quod  constructa  refulsit 
forma   animae    atque    rudi    factam    se    munere 

sensit. 
si  non  est  factura  manus  caro  nostra,  nee  oris  i 

est  factura  anima,  fliatu  et  spiramine  coepta 
inque  locum  deducta  aliquem ;    namque  omne 

quod  hora 
natalis  profert,  locus  accipit ;    et  locus  ullus 
quod    cohibere    potest,    modicum    est,    nee    in 

omnia  fusum ; 
et  quod  tarn  modicum  est  ut  certa  sede  locetur     i 
iam  titubare  potest ;    et  quod  titubaverit  intra 
naturam  vitii  est ;   vitiosum  denique  tristem 
reccidit  in  poenam  :  Deus  hoc,  mihi  credite,  non 

est. 
aut,  si  maiestas  animae  est,  ostendite  quid  sit 
quod  lapsam  Christique  inopem  nova  gratia  in- 

undat,  i. 

Spiritus  et  Sanctus  baptismate  iustificatam 
nobilitat,  famulaeque  decus,  quod  defuit,  addit. 
quod  quia  praestatur  meritis  meritisque  negatur, 
absurde  fertur  Deus  aut  pars  esse  Dei,  quae 
divinum  summumque  bonum  de  fonte  perenni       i. 
nunc    bibit    obsequio,    nunc    culpa    aut   crimine 

perdit, 

184 


THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

palm  ?  Has  it  finger-tips  that  can  bend  and  close 
it  or  spread  the  hand  out  open?  That  is  the  shape 
of  our  hand ;  it  belongs  not  to  the  infinite  Lord ;  but 
a  form  familiar  to  human  minds  has  been  attributed 
to  Him,  to  enable  them  to  understand,  so  that  we 
speak  of  God  having  in  bodily  form  created  the  image 
of  his  body.  It  is  in  the  same  sense  that  that  which 
is  spiritual  was  in  its  turn  created  by  an  incor- 
poreal breath  and  is  called  the  work  of  his  mouth, 
through  which  the  finely-textured  soul  flashed  and 
was  conscious  of  its  creation  ^^ath  power  yet  rudi- 
mentary'. If  our  flesh  is  not  the  creation  of  his  hand, 
neither  is  our  soul  the  creation  of  his  mouth,  originat- 
ing in  the  expiration  of  his  breath  and  conducted  into 
a  particular  place.  For  all  that  has  a  birth-time  at 
which  it  is  brought  forth  is  received  in  some  place ; 
now  what  can  be  confined  in  any  place  is  small,  not 
being  extended  universally ;  and  what  is  so  small 
as  to  be  set  in  a  limited  place  of  abode  may  be  un- 
steady ;  and  what  is  unsteady  partakes  of  corruption  ; 
and  the  corrupt  has  become  hable  to  stern  punish- 
ment. This,  believe  me,  is  not  God.  Else,  if  the  soul 
has  divinity,  show  me  what  means  it  that  it  falls  and  is 
destitute  of  Christ  until  a  new  grace  floods  it  and  the 
Holy  Spirit  by  baptism  justifies  it,  ennobles  it,  and 
gives  to  it  as  the  handmaid  of  God  the  honour  it 
lacked.  And  since  it  is  by  desert  that  this  is  given 
or  refused,  it  is  irrational  to  say  that  the  soul  is  God 
or  a  part  of  God,  for  at  one  time  by  obedience  it 
drinks  in  the  divine  and  supreme  good  from  its  ever- 
lasting source,  and  at  another  by  sin  and  wickedness 


^  Bergman  places  a  full  atop  at  intellectum  and  a  comma  at 
eifigiem. 


185 


PRUDENTIUS 

et  modo  supplicium  recipit,  modo  libera  calcat. 
miraris  peccare  animam,  quae  carne  coactam 
sortita  est  habitare  domum,  cum  peccet  et  ipse 
angelus,  hospitium  qui  nescit  adire  caducum 
cratis  tabifluae  ?   peccat  quia  factus  et  ipse  est, 
non  genitus :  quocumque  modo  sit  factus,  id  unus 
scit  factor  Dominus  :  factum  mihi  credere  sat  sit. 
solus  labe  caret  peccati  conditor  orbis, 
ingenitus  ^   genitusque    Deus,    Pater   et   Patre 

natus, 
solus  et  exceptus  tormentum  admittere  triste 
inviolatus  agit,  nee  quidquam  sentit  acerbi. 
exsortem  die  esse  animam  crucis  atque  doloris, 
si  culpae  inmunem  vacuamque  a  crimine  nosti. 
quae  peccare  valet,  valet  et  succumbere  poenae. 
ipsa  quidem  sincera  fuit  dum  conditur  oHm, 
quae  collata  rudem  fecit  viviscere  limum, 
utpote  de  liquido  naturae  semine  primes 
accipiens  habitus  superoque  expressa  sereno. 
sed  mox,  ut  gravido  iussa  est  innectier  arvo, 
suavibus  inlecebris  nimium  blandita  refrixit 
deque  volutabris  pretiosum  polluit  ignem, 
dum  transgressa  Dei  positum  fas  inproba  calcat. 
haec    prima    est    natura    animae.     sic    condita 

simplex 
decidit  in  vitium  per  sordida  foedera  camis, 
exim  tincta  malo  peccamine  principis  Adae 
infecit  genus  omne  hominum  quod  pullulat  inde, 
et  tenet  ingenitas  animarum  infantia  in  ortu 
primi  hominis  maculas,  nee  quisquam  nascitur 

insons, 

vitandus  tamen  error  erit,  ne  traduce  camis         91{ 
transfundi  in  subolem  credatur  fons  animarum 

^  The  6th-century  MS.  has  agenitus,  which  Bergman  accepts 
j86 


THE  DIVINITY   OF  CHRIST 

loses  it,  and  now  must  submit  to  punishment,  again 
in  freedom  treads  it  under  foot.  Do  you  wonder  that 
the  soul  sins,  whose  lot  it  is  to  dwell  in  a  house  made 
of  flesh,  when  the  very  angel  sins,  who  is  incapable 
of  entering  a  frail  dwelling-place  of  perishing 
structure  ?  He  sins  because  he  too  was  created,  not 
begotten.  How  he  was  created  only  the  Lord,  his 
creator,  knows ;  enough  for  me  to  beUeve  that  he 
was  created.  Only  the  author  of  the  world  is  free 
from  the  stain  of  sin,  God  unbegotten  and  begotten, 
the  Father  and  He  that  was  born  of  the  Father ;  He 
alone  is  exempt  from  stern  punishment,  Uves  un- 
assailed,  and  knows  no  bitterness.  You  may  say  that 
the  soul  is  free  from  cross  and  pain  if  you  know  it  to 
be  guiltless  and  sinless.  The  soul  that  can  sin  can 
also  fall  under  the  penalty.  It  was  indeed  clean  at 
its  creation,  when  it  gave  hfe  to  the  raw  clay  with 
which  it  was  united,  in  as  much  as  it  received  its 
first  disposition  from  the  uncontaminated  source  of 
nature  and  was  formed  by  the  divine  purity ;  but 
then,  being  bidden  to  attach  itself  to  the  heavy 
earth,  it  was  too  much  charmed  by  agreeable  tempta- 
tions and  grew  cold,  polluting  its  precious  flame  with 

i  the  mire,  and  wickedly  transgressing  and  trampling 
on  God's  ordinance.     Such  is  the  soul's  first  character. 

i  Thus  pure  at  its  creation,  it  fell  into  sin  through 

i  unclean  alliance  with  the  flesh ;  then,  tainted  by  the 
wicked  deed  of  the  first  man  Adam,  it  infected  the 
whole  race  of  men  which  springs  from  him ;  infant 
souls  at  birth  have  inborn  in  them  the  first  man's 
stains,  and  none  is  born  sinless.  But  we  shall  have 
to  shun  the  error  of  supposing  that  the  germ  of  the 

Ssoul  is  transmitted  to  offspring  by  propagation  of  the 
'flesh  after  the  manner  of  the  blood,  for  which  the 

187 


PRUDENTIUS 

sanguinis  exemplo,  cui  texta  propagine  vena  est. 
non  animas  animae  pariunt,  sed  lege  latenti 
fundit  opus  natura  suum,  quo  parvula  anhelent 
vascula  vitalisque  adsit  scintilla  coactis.  920 

quae  quamvis  infusa  novum  penetret  nova  semper 
figmentum,  vetus  ilia  tamen  de  crimine  avorum 
dicitur,  inloto  quoniam  concreta  veterno  est. 
inde  secunda  redit  generatio  et  inde  lavatur 
naturae  inluvies,  iterumque  renascimur  intus         925 
perfusi,  ut  veterem  splendens  anima  exuat  Adam, 
quae  quia  materiam  peecati  ex  fomite  carnis 
consociata  trahit,  nee  non  simul  ipsa  sodali 
est  incentivum  peccaminis,  inplicat  ambas 
vindex  poena  reas  peccantes  mente  sub  una,       930 
peccandique  eremat  socias  cruciatibus  aequis. 
his  crucibus  Christus  nos  liberat  incorruptae 
matris  et  innocui  gestator  corporis  unus. 
naturam  poenae  expositam,  sed  non  vitiorum 
naturam  expositam  contactibus  induit  lesus,       935 
atque  ideo  poenae  nil  debuit  intemeratus, 
fraude  carens,  omni  culparum  aspergine  liber. ^ 
quid  Christi  in  membris  peecati  saeva  satelles 
poena  ageret  ?    quid  mors  hominis  sine  crimine 

posset  ? 
nimirum  cassis  conatibus  et  sine  nervis  940 

conciderent  steriles  peecati  fomite  nullo. 
mors  alitur  culpa ;   culpam  qui  non  habet,  ipso 
pastus  defectu  mortem  consumit  inanem. 
sic  mors  in  Domini  consumpta  est  corpore  Christi, 
sic  periit,  solitum  dum  non  habet  arida  pastum,    945 

1  Behveen  937  and  938  two  MSS.  of  class  B  have  this  line  : 
quid  peccatorum  prosapia  corpore  in  illo. 

i88 


THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

vessel  is  made  by  generation  from  the  parent  stock. 
Souls  do  not  give  birth  to  souls,  but  by  a  mysterious 
law  nature  produces  a  work  of  her  own  to  give  the 
tiny  vessels  power  to  breathe,  and  supply  the  spark 
of  Ufe  to  the  assembled  parts.  Yet  though  it  is 
always  a  new  soul  that  is  infused  into  the  new  body, 
it  is  nevertheless  said  to  be  old  after  the  sins  of  its 
fathers,  since  dirt  unwashed  is  caked  hard  upon  it. 
Then  comes  the  second  birth  and  the  natural  filth 
is  washed  away  ;  our  inner  being  is  bom  again  when 
we  are  baptised,  so  that  the  soul  shines  bright  and 
puts  off  the  old  Adam.  But  as  in  its  fellowship  with 
the  body  it  draws  occasion  to  sin  from  the  incitements 
of  the  flesh,  and  itself  also  at  the  same  time  provokes 
sin  in  its  comrade,  avenging  punishment  lays  hold 
of  both  wrongdoers  together  since  they  sin  \^'ith  one 
mind,  and  bums  the  partners  in  sin  with  Uke  tor- 
ments. From  these  torments  Christ  sets  us  free, 
for  He  alone  had  a  mother  immaculate  and  wore  a 
sinless  body ;  Jesus  put  on  a  nature  Uable  to  punish- 
ment, but  not  a  nature  hable  to  the  contagion  of  sin, 
and  so  He  owed  no  debt  to  punishment,  being  un- 
defiled,  without  sin,  free  from  all  besmirching  fault. 
What  would  punishment,  which  is  the  stem  attend- 
ant on  sin,  do  in  the  body  of  Christ  ?  What  could 
death  do  where  there  was  no  human  wickedness  ? 
Naturally  their  efforts  would  be  vain,  they  would 
fall  to  the  ground  strengthless  and  ineffectual  where 
there  was  nothing  to  prompt  sin.  Death  is  nurtured 
an  sin,  and  he  who  has  no  sin  annihilates  death  because 
it  is  exhausted  through  the  very  want  of  what  it 
feeds  on.  So  was  death  annihilated  in  the  body  of 
Christ  our  Lord,  so  was  it  destroyed,  being  withered 
by  want  of  its  accustomed  food.     Reverence  there- 

189 


PRUDENTIUS 

suspice  quapropter  solum  inculpabile  numen, 
virtutem  ^  Patris  et  Christi,  et  iam  desine  nostrae 
invidiam  conflare  animae,  quod  sit  Deus  aut  quod 
portio  parva  Dei,  cum  Christo  abscidere  quid- 

quam 
et  resecare  Deo  partem  vel  carpere  tantum  950 

numen  non  liceat,  plenum  sibi  semper  et  in  se. 
Est  operae  pretium  nebulosi  dogmatis  umbram 
prodere,  quam  tenues  atomi  conpage  minuta 
instituunt,  sed  cassa  cadit  ventoque  liquescit 
adsimilis,  fluxu  nee  se  sustentat  inani.  955 

aerium  Manichaeus  ait  sine  corpore  vero 
pervolitasse  Deum,  mendax  phantasma  cavamque 
corporis  effigiem,  nil  contrectabile  habentem. 
ac  primum  specta  an  deceat  quidquam  simulatum 
adsignare  Deo,  cuius  mera  gloria  falsi  960 

nil  recipit.     membris  hie  se  fallacibus  aptans 
fingeret  esse  hominem  ventosa  subdolus  arte, 
mentitus  totiens,  cum  diceret  "  inveteratis 
do  veniam  morbis,  simul  et  peccata  remitto : 
Filius  est  hominis,  pestem  qui  pellere  camis  965 

et  scelerum  nexus  laxare  ac  solvere  possit : 
surge  valens,  surge  innocuus,  iam  tolle  grabatum  : 
Filius  hoc  hominis  iubeo  "?     dignusne  videtur 
qui  testis  sibi  sit  seque  ac  sua  carnea  norit? 
quid  ?   cum  discipulos,  hominis  quid  Filius  esset    970 
passurus,  fido  iam  praescius  ore  monebat, 
nonne  fatebatur  se  cum  virtute  patema 

1  naturam  ACD  {Bergman). 

'  The  difficulty  of  conceiving  the  union  of  the  divine  nature 
with  the  inherent  imperfection  of  matter  led  some  thinkers 
to  hold  that  the  body  of  Christ  was  not  a  real  human  body 
but  a  semblance  of  it.     This  "  docetic  "  doctrine  was  de- 

190 


THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

fore  the  di\'inity  that  alone  is  sinless,  the  strength  of 
the  Father  and  of  Christ,  and  cease  now  to  bring 
about  odium  for  our  soul  by  saying  that  it.  is  God, 
or  a  small  part  of  God,  since  it  is  not  lawful  to  cut 
off  anything  from  Christ  or  lop  a  part  from  God,  or  to 
diminish  the  great  Godhead  which  is  ever  complete 
for  and  in  itself. 

It  is  worth  while  to  make  mention  of  the  phantom 
that  belongs  to  a  misty  doctrine.  It  consists  of  fine 
particles  in  minute  structure,  but  it  fails  for  lack  of 
body,  vanishes  away  ]ihe  the  wind,  and  is  too  fleeting 
and  unsubstantial  to  maintain  itself."  There  moved 
about,  says  the  Manichean,  a  phantasmal  God  with- 
out real  body,  a  false  appearance,  an  empty  Hkeness 
of  body,  having  nothing  tangible.  Now  see  first 
whether  it  is  fitting  to  ascribe  aught  that  is  counter- 
feit to  God,  whose  pure  glory  admits  of  nothing 
false.  Would  such  a  God  furnish  himself  with  unreal 
members,  and  vrith.  cunning  make-believe  feign 
himself  man,  lying  whenever  He  said  "  I  have  mercy 
on  deep-rooted  diseases,  and  in  the  same  act  I  remit 
sins.  It  is  the  Son  of  man  who  is  able  to  drive  out 
the  plague  of  the  flesh  and  to  loosen  and  undo  the 
bonds  of  \\'ickedness.  Arise  in  health,  arise  in  in- 
nocence, take  up  thy  bed.  I,  the  Son  of  man, 
command  it."  *  Does  He  not  appear  worthy  to  bear 
witness  of  himself,  to  know  himself  and  his  body  of 
flesh  ?  And  when,  knowing  already  before-hand, 
He  warned  his  disciples  with  truthful  lips  what  the 
Son  of  man  was  to  suff"er,  was  He  not  confessing  that 

veloped  particularly  under  the  influence  of  Gnosticism,  and 
of  Manicheism  (c/.  956)  which  spread  widely  during  the  4th 
century. 

"  Cf.  Matthew  ix,  2-6. 

191 


PRUDENTIUS 

esse  hominem  verum  ?  quod  si  non  credo,  fefellit. 
si  natura  Dei  quae  sit,  Manichaee,  requiris, 
omne  quod  est,  verum  est.     nam  si  mendosus  agit 

quid,  975 

nee  Deus  est :  mendum  divinus  non  capit  usus. 
obicis  aeterno  Domino  quod  lubricus  ad  nos 
venerit,  adsimulans  aliud  quam  verus  habebat. 
obmutesce,  furor ;  linguam,  canis  inprobe,  morde 
ipse  tuam,  lacero  consumens  verba  palato.  980 

latranti  obsistit  Mattheus  rabiemque  refelKt, 
qui  notat  omne  genus  carnalis  stirpis  ad  usque 
corporeum  Christum,  per  sex  septena  virorum 
nomina  descendens  et  venam  sanguinis  alti 
ex  atavis  longo  texens  per  stemmata  filo.  985 

Septimus  hebdomadi  venit  superaddere  sextae 
hunc  numerum  Christus,  placidum  qui  conficit 

annum 
cuncta  remittentem  contractibus  inlaqueata 
multimodis,    hominemque    hominis    de    morte 

levantem. 
inperfectus  enim  limus  mortalis  erat  tunc  :  990 

vir  solus  perfectus  adest  atque  integer  lesus, 
cui  nihil  ex  septem  septenis  defuit,  ex  quo 
perficeret  mortale  genus  virtute  perenni. 
hie  ille  est  nobis  qui  septima  sabbata  conplet, 
ut  caro  nostra  Deo  tandem  sociata  quiescat,         995 
quam  bis  terna  malis  vexabant  sabbata  noxis. 
curramus  notis  gradibus  regumque  sequamur 
progeniem  :  Christum  invenies  de  came  parentum 
effluxisse  hominum,  qui  sit  de  semine  David, 
stirpe  recensita  numerandus  sanguinis  heres.        1000 
quid  ?  cum  sanctiloquus  revoluto  germine  Lucas 

°  Matthew  i,  1-17. 

"  I.e.  the  year  of  jubilee  (Leviticus  xxv,  8  ff.). 
192 


THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

along  with  the  power  of  the  Father  He  was  true  man  ? 
If  I  believe  not  this,  then  He  deceived  them.  If 
thou  seekest,  O  Manichean,  to  know  the  nature  of 
God,  all  that  He  is  is  real ;  for  if  He  is  false  in  any- 
thing He  does,  then  is  He  not  God;  the  divine 
activity  admits  of  nothing  false.  Thou  chargest 
against  the  everlasting  Lord  that  He  came  to  us 
deceitfully  counterfeiting  something  other  than  He 
had  in  his  reaHty.  Be  silent,  thou  madman.  Bite 
thine  owti  tongue,  thou  wicked  dog ;  let  thy  torn 
mouth  devour  thy  words.  Matthew  withstands  thy 
barking  and  refutes  thy  raving,  for  he  marks  the 
whole  race  of  the  carnal  stock  right  down  to  the 
bodily  Christ,  coming  down  through  six  times  seven 
names  of  men  and  tracing  the  course  of  noble  blood 
from  his  ancestors  in  a  long  line,  generation  after 
generation."  Seventh  came  Christ  to  crown  the 
sixth  seven  with  the  number  that  makes  the  year  of 
peace,  which  unlooses  all  things  that  are  bound  up 
by  all  manner  of  contracts,  and  frees  man  from  man's 
death.''  For  then  the  mortal  clay  was  imperfect; 
but  now  appears  the  only  perfect  and  unimpaired 
man  Jesus,  in  whom  were  completed  the  seven  times 
seven  whereby  to  make  perfect  the  race  of  men  in 
everlasting  goodness.  This  is  He  that  fulfils  for  us 
the  seventh  sabbath  of  years,  that  our  flesh,  being 
at  last  made  partner  with  God,  may  find  rest  after 
being  vexed  for  six  sabbaths  with  deadly  sins.  Let 
us  run  over  the  familiar  steps  and  follow  the  progeny 
of  kings :  thou  wilt  find  that  Christ  came  of  the 
flesh  of  human  parents,  being  of  the  seed  of  Da\*id, 
and  if  thou  examine  his  descent,  to  be  counted  the 
inheritor  of  his  blood.  And  again,  when  Luke  of 
holy  lips  turns  the  order  of  descent  round  and  takes 

193 

VOL.  I.  H 


PRUDENTIUS 

sursum  versus  agit  seriem,  scandente  nepotis 
corpora  perque  atavos  cursum  relegente  vetustos, 
septenos  decies  conscendit  Christus  in  ortus 
et  duo  (nam  totidem  doctores  misit  in  orbem)  ;     1005 
descensos  nascendo  gradus  redeundo  retexit 
actus  ad  usque  apicem  terreni  corporis  Adam, 
inde  parens  Deitas  recipit  sua  nostraque  mixtim, 
fitque  Dei  summi  per  Christum  filius  Adam, 
restat  ut  aeriam  fingas  ab  origine  gentem,  1010 

aerios  proceres,  Levi,  ludam,  Simeonem, 
aerium  David,  magnorum  corpora  regum 
aeria,  atque  ipsam  fecundae  virginis  alvum 
aere  fallaci  nebulisque  et  nube  tumentem ; 
vanescat  sanguis  perflabilis,  ossa  liquescant  1015 

mollia,  nervorum  pereat  textura  volantum ; 
omne  quod  est  gestum  notus  auferat  inritus, 

aurae 
dispergant  tenues,  sit  fabula  quod  sumus  omnes. 
et  quid  agit  Christus  si  me  non  suscipit?    aut 

quern 
liberat  infirmum  si  dedignatur  adire  1020 

carnis    onus    manuumque    horret    monumenta 

suarum  ? 
indignumne  putat  luteum  consciscere  corpus, 
qui  non  indignum  quondam  sibi  credidit  ipsum 
pertrectare  lutum,  cum  vas  conponeret  arvo 
nondum  viscereo,  sed  inertis  glutine  limi  1025 

inpressoque  putres  sub  pollice  duceret  artus  ? 
tantus  amor  terrae,  tanta  est  dilectio  nostri, 
dignatur  praepinguis  humi  conprendere  mollem 
divinis  glaebam  digitis,  nee  sordida  censet 

"  Luke  iii,  23-38;    but  Luke  makes  75  generations  from 
Joseph  to  Adam  (inclusive). 

194 


I 


THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

the  line  upwards,  making  the  descendant  in  the  flesh 
mount  and  retrace  his  way  through  old-time  an- 
cestors, Christ  mounts  to  seventy  generations  and 
two  "  (now  that  is  the  number  of  teachers  He  sent 
into  the  world)  ^ ;  the  steps  He  came  down  in  his 
birth  He  repeats  backwards,  till  He  arrives  at  Adam, 
the  head  of  all  earthly  flesh.  Then  God  the  Father 
receives  what  is  his  own  and  ours  together,  and 
Adam  through  Christ  becomes  the  son  of  the  supreme 
God.  All  that  remains  for  thee  is  to  suppose  the 
whole  race  from  its  origin  unsubstantial,  unsub- 
stantial princes,  Levi,  Juda,  Simeon,  unsubstantial 
David,  unsubstantial  persons  of  great  kings,  the  very 
womb  of  the  pregnant  virgin  swelling  with  mere 
unsubstantial  vapour  and  unreality ;  that  the  blood 
turn  thin-bodied  and  vanish,  the  bones  grow  soft  and 
melt  away,  the  structure  of  quick-moving  muscles 
perish ;  that  the  wind  carry  away  our  every  act  in 
futility,  the  thin  airs  scatter  it,  and  the  existence  of 
us  all  be  nothing  but  a  tale.  What  does  Christ 
achieve  if  He  does  not  take  up  my  nature  ?  Or  whom 
does  He  set  free  from  his  infirmity  if  He  does  not 
stoop  to  assume  the  burden  of  the  flesh  and  shrinks 
from  that  which  is  the  memorial  of  his  own  handi- 
work ?  Does  He  think  it  unfitting  to  take  on  a  body 
of  clay,  who  once  did  not  believe  it  unfitting  for  Him 
to  handle  the  same  clay,  when  He  was  making  a 
vessel  of  earth  not  yet  become  flesh,  moulding  the 
mortal  frame  out  of  the  sticky,  sluggish  mire  under 
the  pressure  of  his  thumb  ?  Such  is  his  love  of  earth, 
such  his  aff"ection  for  us.  He  deigns  to  grasp  with  the 
divine  fingers  a  soft  clod  of  soil  very  fertile,  and  thinks 

*  Luke  X,  1.     The  number   is  70  in  the  English  Version 
(from  the  Greek),  but  72  in  the  Vulgate  Latin. 

195 


PRUDENTIUS 

haerentis  massae  contagia.     iusserat  ut  lux         1030 
confieret,  facta  est  ut  iusserat ;    omnia  iussu 
imperitante  novas  traxerunt  edita  formas : 
solus  homo  emeruit  Domini  formabile  dextra 
OS  capere,  et  fabro  Deitatis  figmine  nasci. 
quorsum  igitur  limo  tanta  indulgentia  nostro        1035 
contigit,  ut  Domini  manibus  traetatus  honora 
arte  sacer  fieret,  tactu  iam  nobilis  ipso  ? 
decrerat  quoniam  Christum  Deus  incorrupto 
admiscere  solo,  Sanctis  quod  fingere  vellet 
dignum  habuit  digitis  et  carum  condere  pignus.   1040 
destituit  natura  quidem  destructa  coactae 
telluris  formam,  mortique  obnoxia  cessit : 
sed  natura  Dei  numquam  solvenda  caducam 
tellurem  nostro  vitiatam  primitus  usu 
esse  suam  voluit,  ne  iam  vitiabilis  esset.  1045 

Christus  nostra  caro  est:   mihi  solvitur  et  mihi 

surgit ; 
solvor  morte  mea,  Christi  virtute  resurgo. 
cum  moritur  Christus,  cum  flebiliter  tumulatur, 
me  video :   e  tumulo  cum  iam  remeabilis  adstat, 
cerno  Deum.     si  membrorum  phantasma  meo- 

rum  est,  1050 

et   phantasma   Dei   est;     mendax   in   utroque 

necesse  est 
sit  Christus,  specie  si  Christus  fallere  novit. 
si  non  verus  homo  est,  quern  mors  hominem 

px'obat  ipsa, 
nee  verus  Deus  est,  operis  quern  gloria  prodit 
esse  Deum.     vel  crede  mori,  vel  adesse  refelle,   1055 
et  gemina  verum  Christum  ratione  negato. 
nam  quid  magnifieum,  si  non  est  mortuus  lesus, 
et  redit  ?  ilia  Dei  virtus  memorabiUs  est,  ut 


196 


THE  DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

it  not  mean  to  touch  the  dinging  lump.  He  had 
commanded  that  hght  be  made,  and  it  was  made  as 
He  commanded;  all  things  were  brought  forth  and 
took  on  their  new  shapes  at  the  word  of  his  command : 
man  alone  was  held  "worthy  to  receive  features 
formed  by  the  Lord's  hand  and  come  into  being  by 
God's  shaping  handicraft.  To  what  end,  then,  has 
such  favour  fallen  to  our  clay,  that  it  should  have  the 
honour  to  be  worked  by  the  Lord's  hands  and  made 
holy  by  his  workmanship,  being  ennobled  by  his  very 
touch  ?  In  as  much  as  God  had  resolved  to  unite 
Christ  with  earth  uncorrupted.  He  considered  it 
worthy  of  his  will  to  mould  it  with  his  holy  fingers 
and  create  his  dear  child.  True,  its  original  nature 
was  broken  down  and  lost  to  the  created  earthly 
form  and  became  subject  to  death;  but  the  divine 
nature,  which  can  never  be  destroyed,  willed  that  the 
mortal  clay,  corrupted  at  the  first  by  our  use,  should 
be  its  own,  so  as  to  be  no  more  corruptible.  Christ 
is  our  flesh ;  for  me  He  dies,  and  for  me  He  rises. 
I  die  by  my  own  death,  but  by  the  power  of  Christ  I 
rise  again.  When  Christ  dies  and  with  tears  is  laid 
in  the  tomb,  I  see  myself;  when  now  He  returns  from 
the  tomb  and  stands  by  me,  I  perceive  God.  If  He 
is  a  mere  phantom  of  my  body,  then  of  God  too  He 
is  a  phantom ;  in  both  Christ  must  needs  be  false, 
if  Christ  can  wear  a  false  appearance.  If  He  is  not 
true  man,  He  whose  very  death  proves  Him  man, 
neither  is  He  true  God,  whose  glorious  work  pro- 
claims Him  God.  Either  must  thou  believe  in  his 
death,  or  disprove  his  presence  with  us,  and  both 
ways  deny  that  Christ  is  real.  For  where  is  the 
sublimity  if  Jesus  returns  without  having  died  ?  It 
is  the  wonderful  power  of  God  that  having  been  put 

197 


PRUDENTIUS 

occisus  redeat  superis  surgatque  sepultus. 
quisque    Deum    Christum    vult    dicere,    dicat 

eundem  1060 

esse  hominem,  ne  maiestas  sua  fortia  perdat. 
Nosco   meum    in   Christo  corpus  consurgere. 

quid  me 
desperare  iubes  ?   veniam  quibus  ille  revenit 
calcata  de  morte  viis :    quod  eredimus,  hoc  est. 
et  totus  veniam  ;  nee  enim  minor  aut  alius  quam  1065 
nunc  sum  restituar.     vultus,  vigor  et  color  idem, 
qui  modo  vivit,  erit,  nee  me  vel  dente  vel  ungue 
fraudatum  revomet  patefacti  fossa  sepulcri, 
qui  iubet  ut  redeam,  non  reddet  debile  quidquam ; 
nam  si  debilitas  redit,  instauratio  non  est.  1070 

quod    casus    rapuit,   quod    morbus,   quod  dolor 

hausit, 
quod  truncavit  edax  senium  populante  veterno, 
omne  revertenti  reparata  in  membra  redibit. 
debet  enim  mors  victa  fidem,  ne  fraude  sepulcri 
reddat  curtum  aliquid,  quamvis  iam  curta  vorarit  1075 
corpora ;   debilitas  tamen  et  violentia  morbi 
virtus  mortis  erat :  reddet  quod  particulatim 
sorbuerat  quocumque  modo,  ne  mortuus  omnis 
non  redeat,  si  quid  pleno  de  corpore  desit. 
pellite  corde  metum,  mea  membra,  et  credite 

vosmet  1080 

cum  Christo  reditura  Deo ;    nam  vos  gerit  ille 
et  secum  revocat.     morbos  ridete  minaces, 
inflictos  casus  contemnite,  taetra  sepulcra 
despuite ;    exsurgens  quo  Christus  provocat,  ite. 


198 


THE   DIVINITY  OF  CHRIST 

to  death  He  returns  again  to  the  living,  and  having 
been  buried  He  rises.  \Miosoever  will  say  that 
Christ  is  God  must  also  say  that  He  is  man,  lest  his 
majesty  lose  its  strength. 

I  know  that  my  body  rises  in  Christ;  why  dost 
thou  bid  me  abandon  my  hope  ?  I  shall  come  by 
the  same  paths  by  which  He  came  again  from  tramp- 
Ung  upon  death ;  it  is  this  we  beheve.  And  I  shall 
come  whole ;  for  I  shall  be  restored  not  less  nor 
other  than  now  I  am ;  my  features,  natural  force, 
complexion,  ^\i\\  be  the  same  as  they  are  now  in  hfe ; 
when  the  tomb  is  opened,  the  grave  will  send  me 
forth  again  without  the  loss  of  even  a  tooth  or  a  nail. 
He  who  bids  me  return  >\-ill  not  give  back  aught 
infirm  ;  for  if  it  is  infirmity  that  returns,  then  is  there 
no  restoration.  \\'hat  calamity  has  robbed  me  of, 
what  illness  or  pain  has  drained  away,  what  consum- 
ing age  -with  wasting  decline  has  cut  off,  all  will 
return,  at  my  coming  again,  to  a  body  renewed. 
For  conquered  death  must  keep  faith,  not  to  give 
back,  by  the  grave's  dishonest}",  something  that  is 
maimed,  albeit  the  bodies  it  devoured  were  maimed 
already ;  but  then  infirmity  and  vehement  disease 
were  the  strength  of  death.  It  vnW  so  give  back 
what  it  swallowed  piecemeal  in  one  way  or  another, 
that  the  dead  shall  not  return  less  than  entire,  with 
something  lacking  to  the  body's  completeness.  Cast 
fear  out  of  your  heart,  my  members,  and  believe  that 
you  will  return  vrith  Christ  who  is  God ;  for  He  wears 
you,  and  calls  you  back  >vith  himself.  Laugh  at 
the  threats  of  disease,  despise  the  blows  of  calamity, 
scorn  the  foul  tomb.  Wliither  Christ  at  his  rising 
calls  you,  go. 


199 


HAMARTIGENIA 

<  PRAEFATIO  > 

Fratres  ephebi  fossor  et  pastor  duo, 

quos  feminarum  prima  primos  procreat, 

sistunt  ad  aram  de  laborum  fructibus 

Deo  sacranda  munerum  primordia, 

hie  terrulentis,  ille  vivis  fungitur ;  5 

certante  voto  discrepantes  inmolant, 

fetum  bidentis  alter,  ast  alter  scrobis. 

Deus  minoris  conprobavit  hostiam, 

reiecit  illam  quam  paravit  grandior. 

vox  ecce  summo  missa  persultat  throno :       10 

"  Cain,  quiesce ;  namque  si  recte  ofFeras, 

oblata  nee  tu  lege  recta  dividas, 

perversa  nigram  vota  culpam  traxerint." 

armat  deinde  parricidalem  manum 

frater,  probatae  sanctitatis  aemulus  ;  15 

germana  curvo  colla  frangit  sarculo, 

mundum  recentem  caede  tinguit  inpia, 

sero  expiandum,  iam  senescentem,  sacro 

cruore  Christi,  quo  peremptor  concidit. 

mors  prima  coepit  innocentis  vulnere,  20 

cessit  deinde  vulnerato  innoxio. 

per  crimen  orta  dissoluta  est  crimine, 

Abel  quod  ante  perculit,  Christum  dehinc ; 

finita  et  ipsa  est  finis  exsortem  patens. 

3O0 


THE    ORIGIN    OF    SIN 

PREFACE 

Two  young  brothers,  a  tiller  of  the  ground  and  a 
keeper  of  sheep,  first-bom  of  the  first  -woman,  set 
the  first  offerings  at  the  altar,  of  the  fruits  of  their 
labours,  to  dedicate  them  to  God,  the  one  furnishing 
things  of  the  earth,  the  other  li\ing  creatures ; 
with  different  offerings  in  rivalry  they  sacrifice,  the 
one  the  young  of  a  sheep,  the  other  the  produce  of 
his  deUing.  God  has  accepted  the  sacrifice  of  the 
younger,  but  rejected  that  which  the  elder  brought. 
Suddenly  a  loud  voice  rings  from  the  throne  on 
high:  "Peace,  Cain;  for  if  thou  shouldst  offer 
aright  but  not  di\ide  the  offerings  by  right  rule,  thy 
untoward  sacrifice  would  take  on  the  mark  of  sin."  * 
Then  a  brother  in  jealousy  of  the  goodness  that  was 
accepted  arms  his  hand  to  commit  parricide,  and 
breaks  his  own  brother's  neck  vrith  his  bent  hoe, 
staining  the  new-made  world  with  unnatural  blood- 
shed, a  world  to  be  purified  late  in  time  when  it  was~\ 
already  growing  old,  by  the  sacred  blood  of  Christ  \ 
whereby  the  destroyer  fell.  Death  first  began  with  ■ 
the  wounding  of  one  that  was  innocent,  and  passed 
away  by  the  wounding  of  one  that  was  guiltless. 
Through  sin  it  arose,  by  sin  it  was  done  away,  in  that 
aforetime  it  smote  Abel,  and  then  Christ;  it  was 
itself  brought  to  an  end  in  aiming  at  one  who  is 

•  Cf.  Genesis  iv,  7  in  the  Septuagint  version. 

20I 

h2 


PRUDENTIUS 

ergo  ex  futuris  prisca  coepit  fabula  25 

factoque  primo  res  notata  est  ultima, 

ut  ille  mortis  inchoator  rusticus 

insulsa  terrae  deferens  libamina 

Deumque  rerum  miortuarum  deputans 

rastris  redacta  digna  sacris  crederet,  30 

viventis  atrox  aemulator  hostiae. 

agnosco  nempe  quern  figura  haec  denotet, 

quis  fratricida,  quis  peremptor  invidus 

prave  sacrorum  disciplinam  dividat, 

mactare  dum  se  vota  censet  rectius.  35 

Marcion,  arvi  forma  corruptissimi, 

docet  duitas  discrepare  a  Spiritu, 

contaminatae  dona  carnis  offerens 

et  segregatim  numen  aeternum  colens. 

qui  si  quiescat  nee  monentem  neglegat,        40 

paeem  quieta  ^  diligat  germanitas, 

unum  atque  vivum  fassa  vivorum  Deum. 

hie  se  caduco  dedicans  mysterio 

summam  profanus  dividit  substantiam  ; 

malum  bonumque  ceu  duorum  separans        45 

regnum  Deorum  sceptra  committit  duo, 

Deum  esse  credens  quem  fatetur  pessimum. 

Cain  cruentus,  unitatis  invidus, 

mundi  colonus,  immolator  squalidus, 

cuius  litamen  sordet  et  terram  sapit,  50 

terram  caduci  corporis,  venam  putrem, 

^  So  the  oldest  MS,     Most  have  quietam. 


»  Marcion,  who  lived  in  the  2nd  century,  taught  that  the 
"  just  "  (or  "  strict  ")  God  of  the  Old  Testament,  who  created 
the  world  and  man  and  gave  the  law,  was  diiferent  from  and 
inferior  to  the  "good"  God  revealed  by  Jesus  Christ,  who 


i 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

without  end.  So  the  tale  of  olden  times  took  its 
beginning  from  things  that  were  to  be,  and  the  last 
deed  was  indicated  by  the  first,  when  the  countrj'man 
who  started  death,  making  savourless  offerings  of  the 
earth  and  supposing  God  to  be  the  God  of  things 
dead,  beUeved  the  product  of  his  tools  fit  for  the 
altar,  in  his  black-hearted  jealousy  of  the  li\ing 
sacrifice.  It  is  plain  to  see  whom  this  figure  denotes,' 
who  is  his  brother's  murderer,  the  jealous  slayer 
who  divides  the  way  of  holy  things  amiss  while 
supposing  that  he  makes  his  offerings  more  correctly. 
Marcion,  a  creature  of  the  foulest  clay,  teaches  men 
to  beheve  in  two  Gods,  at  variance  with  the  Spirit; 
he  offers  gifts  of  flesh  defiled,  and  worships  the  ever- 
lasting Deity  in  separate  shapes."  If  he  held  his 
peace  and  heeded  warning,  the  brotherhood  would 
be  happy  in  undisturbed  quiet,  acknowledging  the 
one  living  God  of  the  living.  This  man,  giving  him- 
self up  to  a  vain  doctrine,  sacrilegiously  divides  the 
supreme  Being,  separates  a  bad  realm  and  a  good  as 
belonging  to  two  Gods,  and  matches  two  ruling 
powers  against  each  other,  beUeving  one  to  be  a 
God  whom  he  confesses  to  be  utterly  bad.  He  is  a 
bloody  Cain,  one  that  hates  unity,  a  cultivator  of  the 
world,  who  comes  to  sacrifice  all  befouled ;  his 
offering  is  unclean  and  savours  of  the  earth,  the 
earth   of  the   mortal   body,   corrupt   flesh   lumped 

intervened  to  save  men  from  hopeless  subjection  to  the  law. 
The  foundation  of  Marcion's  doctrine  was  the  Pauline  con- 
trast between  the  law  and  the  gospel,  not  one  between  opposed 
powers  of  good  and  evil,  so  that  in  what  follows  Prudentius 
misrepresents  his  teaching.  In  the  western  empire  the  sect 
died  out  in  the  4th  century,  being  swallowed  up  by  Mani- 
cheism  with  its  opposed  powers  of  light  and  darkness.  (See 
Hastings'  Encyclopedia  of  Religion  and  Ethics.) 

203 


PRUDENTIUS 

umore  denso  conglobatam  et  pulvere, 

natura  cuius  fraude  floret  fertili 

fecunda  fundens  noxiorum  crimina, 

animaeque  vitam  labe  carnis  enecat.  55 

caro  in  sororexn  tela  mentem  dirigit, 

mens  in  cerebro  ventilatur  ebrio, 

ex  quo  furores  suculentos  conligit 

madens  veneno  corporis  lymphatico. 

Deum  perennem  findit  in  duos  Deos,  60 

audet  secare  numen  insecabile. 

cadit  perempta  denegans  unum  Deum, 

Cain  triumphat  morte  fratris  halitus.i 


Quo  te  praecipitat  rabies  tua,  perfide  Cain, 
divisor  blaspheme  Dei  ?     tibi  conditor  unus 
non  liquet,  et  bifidae  caligant  nubila  lucis  ? 
insincera  acies  duo  per  divortia  semper 
spargitur,  in  geminis  visum  frustrata  figuris.  5 

terrarum  tibi  forma  duplex  obludit,  ut  excors 
dividuum  regnare  Deum  super  aethera  credas. 
bina  boni  atque  mali  glomerat  discrimina  sordens 
hie  mundus,  Domino  sed  caelum  obtemperat  uni. 
non  idcirco  duos  retinent  caelestia  reges  10 

quod  duo  sunt  opera  humanas  agitantia  curas. 
exterior  terrenus  homo  est,  qui  talia  cemens 
conicit  esse  duo  variarum  numina  rerum. 
dum  putat  esse  Deum  qui  prava  effinxerit  olim, 
et  qui  recta  itidem  condens  induxerit,  ambos  15 

autumat  esse  Deos  natura  dispare  summos. 
quae  tandem  natura  potest  consistere  duplex 
aut  regnare  diu,  quam  fons  divisus  ab  arce 

^  So  the  oldest  MS.     Many  have  the  metrically  impossible 
alitus.    Arevalo  conjectured  allitus. 
204 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

together  of  thick  water  and  dust,  whose  nature  it  is 
to  bloom  richly  -with  >vickednessj  pouring  out  proHfic 
crops  of  sin  in  guilty  men,  and  Mrith  the  foulness  of 
the  flesh  to  kill  the  Ufe  of  the  soul.  The  flesh  aims 
its  weapons  at  its  sister  the  spirit,  and  the  spirit  is 
swung  about  in  a  drunken  brain,  from  which  it 
contracts  strong  frenzies,  being  intoxicated  with  the 
maddening  poison  of  the  body.  It  spUts  the  ever- 
lasting God  into  two  Gods,  daring  to  di\ade  the 
Godhead  indivisible,  and  is  slain  and  perishes  in 
denying  the  one  God,  while  Cain  triumphs  in  the 
death  of  his  brother's  soul. 


To  what   lengths  does  thy  madness  drive  thee, 
faithless  Cain,  thou  blasphemous  divider  of  God  ?     Is 
not  the  one  creator  plain  to  thee?     Is  thy  vision 
befogged  and  double  ?     Sight  that  is  blurred  ever 
divides   along   two   paths,   cheating   the   eyes   with 
double  shapes.     The  twofold  form  of  the  world  fools 
thee  into  th^  senseless  belief  that  a  divided  God 
reigns    above    the    skies.     This    defiled    world   is    a"! 
mixture  of  two  contrasted  elements,  good  and  bad,  / 
but  the  heaven  obeys  one  Lord.     It  does  not  foUowJ 
that  the  heavens  contain  two  kings,  because  there 
are  two  sorts  of  works  that  busy  the  hearts  of  men.1 
The  outer  man  is  of  the  earth,  and  seeing  such  things 
he  infers  that  there  are  two  Godheads  of  the  different 
realms.     Supposing  that  there  is  a   God  who  once 
fashioned  the  evil,  and  one  who   similarly  created 
and  brought  in  the  right,  he  avers  that  both  are 
supreme    Gods    though    of    unlike    nature.     What 
nature  that  is  twofold  can  maintain  itself  or  reign 
for  long,  when  a  divided  source  shuts  it  off  from 

205 


PRUDENTIUS 

separat,  altemaque  apicum  dicione  recidit? 
aut  unus  Deus  est,  rerum  cui  summa  potestas,        20 
aut  quae  iam  duo  sunt  minuuntur  dispare  summa. 
porro  nihil  summum  nisi  plenis  viribus  unum, 
distantes  quoniam,  proprium  dum  quisque  revulso 
vindicat  imperio,  nee  summa  nee  omnia  possunt. 
ius  varium  non  est  plenum,  quia  non  habet  alter     25 
quidquid  dispar  habet ;  cumulum  discretio  carpit. 
nos  plenum  sine  parte  Deum  testamur  et  unum, 
in  quo  Christus  inest,  idem  quoque  plenus  et  unus, 
qui  viget  ac  viguit  super  omnia  quique  vigebit 
participem  nullum  collato  foedere  passus.  30 

summa  potestatum  Pater  est,^  dominatio  rerum, 
virtutum  sublime  caput,  fons  unicus  orbis, 
naturalis  apex,  generisque  et  originis  auctor ; 
ex  quo  cuncta  fluunt,  et  lux  et  tempora  et  anni 
et  numerus,  qui  post  aliquid  dedit  esse  secundum  ;  35 
unus  enim  princeps  numeri  est,  nee  dinumerari 
tantum  unus  potis  est.     sic,  cum  Pater  ac  Deus 

alter 
non  sit,  item  Christus  non  sit  genitore  secundus, 
anterior  numero  est,  cui  Filius  unicus  uni  est. 
ille  Deus,  meritoque  Deus,  quia  primus  et  unus,     40 
in  virtute  sua  primus,  tum  primus  in  illo 
quem     genuit.     quid     enim     differt     generatio 

simplex  ? 
unum  semper  erit  gignens  atque  unus  ab  uno 
ante  chaos  genitus  numeroque  et  tempore  liber, 
quis  dixisse  duos  rem  maiestate  sub  una  45 

^  So  A  {def.  B).    Some  MSS.  of  class  A  as  well  as  class 
B  have  summa  potestatum  simplex  dominatio. 

2o6 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

supremacy  and  abridges  it  by  subjection  to  one  or 
other  of  two  sovereignties  ?  Either  there  is  one  God 
to  whom  belongs  supreme  power  over  the  world,  or 
else  the  two  powers  that  exist  are  each  diminished 
because  there  is  a  different  supremacy.  There  is 
indeed  no  supremacy  but  what  is  one  and  possessed 
of  plenary  power,  for  separate  beings  each  claiming 
his  own  sovereignty  and  rejecting  control  have 
neither  supreme  nor  complete  power.  Dispersed 
authority  is  not  plenar}',  because  the  one  does  not 
have  what  the  other  has ;  the  separation  takes  away 
from  the  full  measure.  But  we  bear  witness  to  a  ^ 
God  who  is  perfect,  undivided,  and  one,  in  whom  is  \ 
Christ,  He,  too,  perfect  and  one,  who  lives,  and  has 
lived  beyond  all  things,  and  shall  live,  admitting  no 
partner  on  terms  agreed.  The  Father  is  sovereign. 
Lord  of  all  things,  the  high  source  of  powers,  the  one 
fountain-head  of  the  world,  the  starting  point  of  all 
being,  author  of  all  birth  and  beginning.  From  Him 
flow  all  things,  both  light  and  times  and  years  and 
number ;  it  is  He  who  appointed  that  after  one  thing 
there  should  be  a  second ;  for  the  one  is  the  beginning 
of  number,  and  one  by  himself  cannot  be  counted. 
In  this  way,  since  there  is  no  second  Father  and  God, 
and  Christ  also  is  not  next  after  the  Father,  the  one, 
to  whom  belongs  the  one  and  only  Son,  is  anterior 
to  number.  He  is  God,  and  rightly  God,  because 
first  and  one,  first  in  his  own  power,  and  then  first 
in  Him  whom  He  has  begotten.  For  what  dis- 
tinction does  mere  begetting  make  ?  The  begetter 
and  the  one  begotten  of  one  before  the  primeval 
darkness,  without  number  or  time,  will  always  be 
one  being.  Who  would  venture  to  say  that  that 
which  reigns  in  one  majesty  and  belongs  to  itself 

207 


PRUDENTIUS 

regnantem  propriamque  sibi  retroque  perennem 
ausit,  et  unius  naturae  excindere  vires  ? 
numquid  adoptivum  genitor  sibi  sumpsit,  ut  alter 
externi  generis  numerum  praestare  duorum 
debeat  et  geminum  distans  inducere  numen  ?  50 

forma  Patris  veri  verus  stat  Filius  ac  se 
unum  rite  probat  dum  formam  servat  eandem. 
non  amor  adscitus  sociat  nee  iungit  utrumque 
coniurata  fides,  pietas  sed  certa  genusque 
unum,  quod  Deus  est,  summam  revocatur  ad  unam,  55 
haec  tibi,  Marcion,  via  displicet,  hanc  tua  damnat 
secta  fidem  dominis  caelum  partita  duobus. 
quae  te  confundunt  nebulae  ?   quis  somnus  inert! 
incubat  ingenio,  cui  per  phantasmata  duplex 
occurrit  species  bivio  dispersa  superno.  60 

si  vim  mentis  hebes  stupor  obsidet,  aspice  saltern 
obvia  terrenis  oculis  elementa,  quibus  se 
res  occulta  Dei  dignata  est  prodere  signis. 
hanc  heresin  praesaga  Patris  praeviderat  olim 
maiestas  :   fore  qui  rectorem  lucis  et  orbis  65 

scinderet  in  partes  geminatum  segrege  regno, 
idcirco  specimen  posuit  spectabile  nostris 
exemplumque  oculis,  ne  quis  duo  numina  credat 
[imperitare,  vagis  mundi  per  inania  formis].^ 
una  per  inmensam  caeli  caveam  revolutos  70 

praebet  flamma  dies,  texit  sol  unicus  anniun ; 
triplex  ille  tamen  nullo  discrimine  trina 
subnixus  ratione  viget,  splendet,  volat,  ardet, 
motu  agitur,  fervore  cremat,  turn  lumine  fulget. 

^  This  line  (with  vagas  .   .   .  formas)  appears  in  the  text  of 
one  Qth-century  MS.  (U), 
3o8 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

alone  and  was  for  ever  pre-existent  is  two  Gods,  and 
to  break  down  the  strength  of  a  being  that  is  single  ? 
Did  the  Father  take  to  himself  a  Son  by  adoption, 
so  that  the  second,  being  of  external  origin,  must 
then  make  the  number  two  and,  being  separate, 
bring  in  a  dual  Godhead?  No,  He  is  a  real  Son,"^ 
the  likeness  of  a  real  Father,  and  properly  proves  his  / 
unity  by  keeping  the  same  likeness.  It  is  no  extran-  \ 
eous  affection  that  allies  them,  no  covenant  that  unites 
them,  but  the  true  love  of  father  and  son  and  single- 
ness of  nature,  which  is  God,  that  make  a  single 
whole.  This  way  finds  no  favour  with  thee,  Marcion, 
this  faith  thy  doctrine  condemns,  dividing  heaven 
between  two  lords.  WTiat  fogs  confound  thee, 
what  sleep  lies  hea\y  on  thy  sluggish  mind,  that  it 
sees  an  apparition  of  two  forms  standing  apart  in  a 
divided  heaven  ?  If  a  dull  insensibility  shuts  up  the"~l 
force  of  thy  mind,  look  at  least  at  the  elements  that  | 
meet  earthly  eyes,  the  signs  by  which  the  mystery  of  / 
God  has  deigned  to  manifest  itself.  This  heresy  the 
Father's  majesty,  Asith  his  foreknowledge,  had  in 
time  past  foreseen — that  there  would  arise  one  who 
would  split  the  ruler  of  light  and  of  the  world  into 
parts,  making  Him  twofold  -with  separate  realms. 
For  this  reason  He  set  a  sign  and  a  token  th?t  our 
eyes  can  see,  lest  any  should  believe  that  there  are 
two  Godheads  [ruling  in  divergent  forms  over  the 
spaces  of  the  world].  It  is  one  fire  that  furnishes  the 
revolution  of  the  days  in  the  boundless  vault  of 
heaven,  one  only  sun  that  weaves  the  fabric  of  the 
year ;  and  yet  the  sun  is  threefold  without  distinction 
of  parts,  and  its  activity  depends  on  three  principles; 
for  it  shines,  it  speeds  through  the  sky,  and  it  burns  ; 
it  is  impelled  by  motion,  it  burns  ^\■ith  heat,  and  it 

209 


PRUDENTIUS 

sunt  tria  nempe  simul,  lux  et  calor  et  vegetamen,    75 

una  eademque  tamen  rota  sideris  indiscretis 

fungitur  his,  uno  servat  tot  munera  ductu 

et  tribus  una  subest  mixtim  substantia  rebus. 

non  conferre  Deo  velut  aequiperabile  quidquam 

ausim,  nee  Domino  famulum  conponere  signum ;    80 

ex  minimis  sed  grande  suum  voluit  Pater  ipse 

coniectare  homines,  quibus  ardua  visere  non  est. 

parvorum  speculo  non  intellecta  notamus, 

et  datur  occultum  per  proxima  quaerere  verum. 

nemo  duos  soles  nisi  sub  glaucomate  vidit  85 

aut,  si  fusca  polum  suffudit  palla  serenum, 

oppositus  quotiens  radiorum  spicula  nimbus 

igne  repercusso  mentitos  spargit  in  orbes. 

sunt  animis  etiam  sua  nubila,  crassus  et  aer, 

est  glaucoma,  aciem  quod  tegmine  velet  aquoso,     90 

libera  ne  tenerum  penetret  meditatio  caelum 

neve  Deum  rapidis  conprendat  sensibus  unum ; 

spargitur  in  bifidas  male  sana  intentio  luces, 

et  duplices  geminis  auctoribus  extruit  aras. 

si  duo  sunt,  igitur  cur  non  sint  multa  Deorum         95 

miliaV'  cur  numero  Deitas  contenta  gemello  est? 

an  non  in  populos  dispersa  examina  Divum 

fundere  erat  melius  mundumque  inplere  capacem 

semideis  passim  nullo  discrimine  monstris, 

quis  fera  barbaries  perituros  mactat  honores  ?       100 

dissona  discretum  retinent  si  numina  caelum, 

convenit  et  nebulis  et  fontibus  et  reboanti 

oceano  et  silvis  et  collibus  et  speluncis, 

210 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

gleams  with  light.     There  you  have  clearly  three 
things  together,  light  and  warmth  and  movement, 
yet  it  is  one  and  the  same  heavenly  orb  that  performs 
them  without  separation,  it  is  in  one  course  that  it 
discharges  all  these  functions,  and  one  common  sub- 
stance underlies  all  three.     I  would  not  venture  to 
compare  anything  with  God  as  though  it  were  on  a 
par  with  Him,  nor  to  match  with  the  Lord  a  star 
that  is  his  servant ;  but  the  Father  himself  has  willed  ' 
that  men  infer  his  greatness  from  what  is  but  small,  [ 
since  they  cannot  see  the  things  on  high.     In  the_J 
mirror  of  the  small  we  mark  things  we  do  not  under-*^ 
stand,  and  we  are  permitted  to  seek  the  hidden  truth  j 
by  means  of  what  is  at  hand.     No  man  has  seen  two  : 
suns,  unless  his  \ision  were  obscured,  or  when  a  dusky 
mantle  has  overcast  the  clear  sky  and  a  cloud,  block- 
ing the  path  of  the  shafts  of  light  and  reflecting  their 
fire,    spreads    them    into   the   shape    of  false    orbs. 
Minds,  too,  have  their  clouds  and  thick  atmosphere ; 
there  is  a  cataract  that  veils  the  mind's  eye  with 
a  watery  film  and  prevents  the  thought  from  freely 
penetrating   the   translucent   heavens   and   compre- 
hending the  one  God  with  quick  perception.     The 
earnest   gaze   is   unsound  and  spreads  into   double 
vision,  and  so  builds  two  altars  for  two  creators.     If 
there  are  two  Gods,  why  then  not  many  thousands  ? 
Why  is  Deity  content  with  the  number  two  ?     Had 
it  not  been  better  to  scatter  abroad  whole  swarms 
of  divinities  over  the  nations  and  to  fill  the  wide 
world    everywhere    indiscriminately  with   the  mon- 
strous demigods  in  whose  worship  wild  savages  waste 
their  sacrifices  ?     If  different   Gods  hold  a  divided" 
heaven,  then  it  is  natural  to  assign  to  clouds  and 
springs  and  the  sounding  ocean,  to  woods  and  hills 

211 


PRUDENTIUS 

fluminibus,  ventis,  fomacibus  atque  metallis 
assignare  Deos  proprios,  sua  cuique  iura.  105 

vel,  si  gentiles  sordet  venerarier  umbras 
et  placet  esse  duos  sceptris  socialibus  aequos, 
die,  age,  quis  terras  dicionis  sorte  retentet, 
quis  regat  aequoreas  aeterna  lege  procellas, 
ede  coheredum  distinctum  ius  dominorum.  110 

"  unus,"  ais,  "  tristi  residet  sublimis  in  arce, 
auctor  nequitiae,  scelerum  Deus,  asper,  iniquus, 
qui  quodcumque  malum  vitioso  fervet  in  orbe 
sevit,  et  anguino  medicans  nova  semina  suco 
rerum  principium  mortis  de  fomite  traxit.  115 

ipse  opifex  mundi  terram,  mare,  sidera  fecit, 
condidit   ipse   hominem   lutulenta    et   membra 

coegit, 
effigians  quod  morbus  edat,  quod  crimine  multo 
sordeat,  informi  tumulus  quod  tabe  resolvat. 
ast  alii  pietatis  amor  placidumque  medendi  120 

ingenium,  recreans  homines,  mortalia  servans. 
Testamenta  duo  fluxerunt  principe  utroque : 
tradidit  iste  novum  melior,  vetus  illud  acerbus." 
haec  tua,  Marcion,  gravis  et  dialectica  vox  est, 
immo  haec  attoniti  phrenesis  manifesta  cerebri.     125 
novimus    esse    patrem    scelerum,    sed    novimus 

ipsum 
haudquaquam   tamen   esse    Deum,   quin   immo 

gehennae 
mancipium,  Stygio  qui  sit  damnandus  Avemo, 
Marcionita  Deus,  tristis,  ferus,  insidiator, 
vertice  sublimis,  cinctum  cui  nubibus  atris  130 

anguiferum  caput  et  fumo  stipatur  et  igni, 
liventes  oculos  subfundit  felle  perusto 
invidia  inpatiens  iustorum  gaudia  ferre. 
hirsutos  iuba  densa  umeros  errantibus  hydris 

212 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

and  caves,  to  rivers  and  winds  and  furnaces  and  j 
mines  gods  of  their  own,  and  to  each  his  o\vn  author- 
ity. Or  if  thou  dost  scorn  to  worship  the  false  gods 
of  the  heathen  and  yet  wilt  have  it  that  there  are 
two  who  share  sovereignty  on  equal  terms,  tell  me 
then  to  which  of  them  it  falls  to  hold  the  land  in  his 
sway,  and  which  rules  the  stormy  sea  with  eternal 
law.  Show  me  how  authority  is  di\"ided  between  the 
joint  lords.  "  One,"  sayest  thou,  "  sits  aloft  on  a 
grim  throne,  the  author  of  evil,  the  God  of  sin,  cruel, 
imjust ;  it  is  He  that  sowed  all  the  ill  that  ferments 
in  this  corrupt  world,  and  steeping  his  new  seeds  in 
snakes'  venom  derived  the  world's  beginning  from 
that  which  gives  rise  to  death.  He  it  is,  the  maker 
of  the  world,  who  created  earth  and  sea  and  stars, 
who  made  man,  assembUng  his  frame  of  clay  and 
moulding  a  thing  for  disease  to  consume,  and  many 
a  sin  defile,  and  the  grave  destroy  with  hideous  cor- 
ruption. But  to  the  other  belongs  loving-kindness, 
the  gentle  will  to  heal,  that  restores  man  and  saves 
mortality.  Two  Testaments  flowed  from  these  two 
Powers :  the  kindlier  gave  the  New,  the  cruel  the 
Old."  Such,  Marcion,  is  the  utterance  of  thy 
pestilent  sophistry,  or  rather  the  obWous  raving  of 
a  mind  confoimded.  We  know  there  is  a  father  1 
of  sin,  but  we  know  he  is  no  God  for  all  that, 
but  rather  the  bond-slave  of  hell,  who  shall  be 
condemned  to  Stygian  Avemus — Marcion 's  God,  j 
harsh,  cruel,  treacherous,  holding  high  his  snake-  | 
wreathed  head  girt  about  with  black  clouds  and  \ 
encompassed  with  smoke  and  fire,  while  envy  that 
cannot  endure  the  joys  of  the  righteous  stains  his 
spiteful  eyes  with  burning  gall.  A  thick,  shaggy 
mane  of  writhing  snakes  covers  his  shoulders,  and 

213 


PRUDENTIUS 

obtegit  et  virides  adlambunt  ora  cerastae.  135 

ipse  manu  laqueos  per  lubrica  fila  reflexes 
in  nodum  revocat,  facilique  ligamine  tortas 
innectit  pedicas  nervosque  in  vincula  tendit. 
ars  olli  captare  feras,  animalia  bruta 
inretire  plagis,  retinacula  denique  caeeis  140 

indeprensa  locis  erranti  opponere  praedae. 
hie  ille  est  venator  atrox,  qui  caede  frequenti 
incautas  animas  non  cessat  plectere,  Nebroth, 
qui  mundum  curvis  anfractibus  et  silvosis 
horrentem  soopulis  versuto  circuit  astu,  145 

fraude  alios  tectisque  dolis  innectere  adortus, 
porro  giganteis  alios  luctando  lacertis 
frangere,  funereos  late  exercere  triumphos. 
inproba  mors,  quid  non  mortalia  pectora  cogis  ? 
ipse  suam  (pudet  heu  !)  contempto  principe  vitae    150 
perniciem  veneratur  homo,  colit  ipse  cruentum 
carnificem  gladiique  aciem  iugulandus  adorat. 
in  tantum  miseris  peccati  nectare  captis 
dulce  mori  est,  tanta  in  tenebris  de  peste  voluptas  ! 
qui  mala  principio  genuit  Deus  esse  putatur,         155 
quique  bona  infecit  vitiis  et  Candida  nigris ! 
par  furor  illorum,  quos  tradit  fama  dicatis 
consecrasse  deas  Febrem  Scabiemque  sacellis. 

inventor  vitii  non  est  Deus :    angelus  illud 
degener  infami  conceptual  mente  creavit,  160 

qui  prius  augustum  radiabat  sidus  et  ingens 
ex  nihilo  splendor  nutrito  ardebat  honore. 


"  Nimrod  (Genesis  x,  8-9). 

"  Febris  and  Robigus  were  two  of  the  many  functional 
spirits  recognised  by  the  old  Roman  priests.  The  latter  was 
the  spirit  which  could  cause  "  rust "  (robigo)  on  crops.  We 
do  not  hear  elsewhere  of  Scabies  as  such  a  spirit,  and  Pruden- 

214 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

green  serpents  lick  his  face.  With  his  hand  he  pulls^ 
the  running  loops  of  his  snares  into  a  knot,  contriving  | 
traps  of  cord  doubled  back  and  lightly  tied,  and 
drawing  the  string  tight  to  make  fast  his  victim. 
His  is  the  skill  to  hunt  game,  to  ensnare  senseless 
creatures  in  his  nets,  to  lay  unnoticed  traps  in  dark 
places  to  catch  his  wandering  prey.  He  is  the  cruel 
hunter  Nebroth,"  who  is  never  weary  of  smiting  in- 
cautious souls  in  constant  slaughter,  who  with  cunning 
craft  goes  about  a  world  all  rough  \\ith  \nnding 
tortuous  ways  and  wooded  crags,  seeking  to  entangle 
some  by  deceit  and  hidden  \nles,  to  break  others 
with  the  grip  of  his  giant  arms,  and  work  his  fatal 
triiunphs  everywhere.  Ruthless  death !  To  what 
dost  thou  not  drive  human  hearts  ?  Man  himself^ 
(alas,  the  shame  of  it !),  scorning  the  author  of  his 
life,  does  homage  to  his  own  destruction,  worships 
the  bloody  assassin,  pays  reverence  to  the  edge  of 
the  sword  that  is  to  murder  him.  So  sweet  is  death 
to  poor  ^\Tetches  caught  by  the  charm  of  sin,  such 
the  pleasure  they  blindly  draw  from  their  bane  !  He"l 
who  was  the  first  begetter  of  e\-il,  who  stained  good- 
ness \^'ith  sin,  whiteness  ^\•ith  black,  is  thought  to  be 
a  God !  No  madder  were  they  who,  as  tradition 
tells,  consecrated  Fever  and  Scurf  as  goddesses  and 
dedicated  shrines  to  them.* 

The  contriver  of  e\'il  is  no  God.     It  was  a  debased^' 
angel  that  conceived  it  in  his  foul  mind  and  brought 
it  into  being,  one  that  aforetime  shone  like  a  majestic 
star  and  blazed  in  great   brightness   >\'ith   a  glory 
created  and  maintained  out  of  nothing.     For  from 

tius  is  probably  using  the  word  here  as  a  synonym  for  Robigus ; 
the  noun  scabies  and  the  adjective  scabra  are  found  in  associa- 
tion with  robigo. 

215 


PRUDENTIUS 

ex   nihilo  nam  cuncta  retro,  factumque   quod 

usquam  est, 
at  non  ex  nihilo  Deus  et  Sapientia  vera 
Spiritus  et  Sanctus,  res  semper  viva  nee  umquam   165 
coepta,  sed  aerios  etiam  molita  ministros. 
horum  de  numero  quidam  pulcherrimus  ore, 
maiestate  ferox,  nimiis  dum  viribus  auctus 
inflatur,  dum  grande  tumens  sese  altius  efFert 
ostentatque  suos  licito  iactantius  ignes,  170 

persuasit  propriis  genitum  se  viribus  ex  se 
materiam  sumpsisse  sibi,  qua  primitus  esse 
inciperet,  nascique  suum  sine  principe  coeptum. 
hinc  schola  subtacitam  meditatur  gignere  sectam, 
quae  docet  e  tenebris  subitum  micuisse  tyrannum,  175 
qui  velut  aeterna  latitans  sub  nocte  retrorsum 
vixerit  et  tecto  semper  regnaverit  aevo. 
aemulus,  ut  memorant,  opera  ad  divina  repente 
corrumpenda  caput  caligine  protulit  atra. 
hoc  ratio  sed  nostra  negat,  cui  non  licet  unam       180 
infirmare  fidem,  sacro  quae  tradita  hbro  est. 
"  nil,"  ait,  "  absque  Deo  factum,  sed  cuncta  per 

ipsum, 
cuncta,  nee  est  alius  quisquam  nisi  factus  ab  ipso." 
sed  factus  de  stirpe  bonus,  bonitatis  in  usum 
proditus  et  primo  generis  de  fonte  serenus,  185 

deterior  mox  sponte  sua,  dum  decolor  ilium 
inficit  invidia  stimulisque  instigat  amaris. 
arsit  enim  scintilla  odii  de  fomite  zeli 
et  dolor  ingenium  subitus  conflavit  iniquum. 
viderat  argillam  simulacrum  et  structile  flatu        190 

2i6 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

nothing  were  all  things,  back  to  the  beginning,  every-^ 
created  thing  everj^^vhere ;  but  not  from  nothing  is  ) 
God  and  the  true  Wisdom  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  an  ' 
eternal  Being  that  had  no  beginning  but  has  also 
created  spiritual  ministers.  One  of  their  number,  a 
being  of  most  beauteous  features,  grew  over-weening 
in  his  greatness ;  puffed  up  >\ith  the  excessive 
strength  to  which  he  had  grown,  bearing  himself  too 
highly  in  his  big-swelling  pride,  and  displaying  his 
fires  more  boastfully  than  was  proper,  he  persuaded 
some  that  he  was  begotten  of  his  own  might  and  of ' 
himself  assumed  substance  whereby  he  first  began 
to  be,  and  that  his  birth  had  its  origin  in  no  creator. 
Hence  his  followers  design  to  bring  into  being  a 
stealthy  school  which  teaches  that  Satan  sprang  on 
a  sudden  out  of  darkness,  after  having  lived  through  "' 
all  the  past  concealed  in  a  kind  of  everlasting  night, 
and  ha\ing  reigned  through  all  time  though  un- 
discovered. In  rivalry',  as  they  tell,  he  thrust  his 
head  suddenly  out  of  the  black  darkness  to  spoil  the 
works  of  God.  But  this  our  way  of  thought  denies  ; 
it  is  not  permitted  to  annul  the  unity  of  the  faith 
which  is  handed  down  to  us  by  Scripture.  "  Nothing," 
it  says,  "  was  made  ^\^thout  God,  but  all  things  by 
Him,  all  things ;  and  there  is  no  other  person  not 
made  by  Him."  But  one  that  from  his  origin  was 
made  good,  created  for  the  practice  of  goodness,  and 
pure  from  the  first  source  of  his  being,  became 
afterwards  corrupt  of  his  own  ^^•ill  because  envy 
marked  him  with  her  stain  and  pricked  him  \nih  her 
sore  stings.  For  the  spark  of  hate  was  fed  into  a 
flame  by  jealousy,  and  resentment  suddenly  kindled 
emnity  in  his  heart.  He  had  seen  how  a  figure 
fashioned  of  clay  grew  warm  under  the  breath  of 

217 


PRUDENTIUS 

concaluisse  Dei,  dominum  quoque  conditioni  ^ 

inpositum,  natura  soli  pelagique  polique 

ut  famulans  homini  locupletem  fundere  partum 

nosset  et  efFusum  terreno  addicere  regi. 

inflavit  fermento  animi  stomachante  tumorem      195 

bestia  deque  acidis  vim  traxit  acerba  medullis ; 

bestia  sorde  carens,  cui  tunc  sapientia  longi 

corporis  enodem  servabat  recta  iuventam, 

conplicat  ecce  novos  sinuoso  pectore  nexus, 

involvens  nitidam  spiris  torquentibus  alvum.  200 

simplex  lingua  prius  varia  micat  arte  loquendi, 

et  discissa  dolis  resonat  sermone  trisulco. 

hinc  natale  caput  vitiorum,  principe  ab  illo 

fluxit  origo  mali,  qui  se  corrumpere  primum, 

mox  hominem  didicit  nullo  informante  magistro.  205 

ultimus  exitium  subverso  praeside  mundus 

sortitur  mundique  omnis  labefacta  supellex. 

non  aliter  quam  cum  incautum  spoliare  viantem 

forte  latro  adgressus,  praedae  prius  inmemor, 

ipsum 
ense      ferit     dominum,      pugnae      nodumque 

moramque,  210 

quo  pereunte  trahat  captivos  victor  amictus 
iam  non  obstanti  locuples  de  corpore  praedo, 
sic  homini  subiecta  domus,  ditissimus  orbis 
scilicet  in  facilem  domino  peccante  ruinam 
lapsus  erile  malum  iam  tunc  vitiabilis  hausit.         215 
tunc  lolium  lappasque  leves  per  adultera  culta 
ferre  malignus  ager  glaebis  male  pinguibus  ausus 
triticeam  vacuis  segetem  violavit  avenis ; 
time  etiam  innocuo  vitulorum  sanguine  pasci, 

After  191  U  (cf.  note  on  69)  has  the  line 
qui  cunctum  regeret  proprio  moderamine  mundum. 

2l8 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

God  and  was  made  lord  of  the  creation,  so  that  earth 
and  sea  and  sky  had  learned  to  pour  forth  their  rich 
produce  in  the  service  of  man  and  yield  it  lavishly 
to  an  earthly  ruler.  The  beast  swelled  up  with  the 
passion  working  in  his  heart,  and  in  his  bitter  hate 
drew  force  from  his  soured  marrows  ;  a  beast  hitherto 
without  spot,  for  upright  wisdom  then  kept  his  long, 
young  body  straight,  he  suddenly  begins  with  sinuous 
breast  to  gather  himself  in  strange  t\\inings,  twisting 
his  bright  belly  in  intricate  coils.  His  darting^ 
tongue,  single  before,  has  now  the  trick  of  diverse 
speech,  and  being  divided  in  guile,  utters  three- 
forked  words.  From  him  is  the  original  fountain- 
head  of  sin,  from  its  beginning  in  him  sprang  the 
source  of  e\'il ;  for  he  learned  to  corrupt  first  himself  . 
and  then  man,  with  no  teacher's  instruction ;  and  i 
lastly  destruction  befalls  the  world  by  the  ruin  of  its  ' 
head,  and  all  the  world's  store  is  subverted.  Just  _. 
as  when  it  chances  that  a  robber,  setting  about  the 
despoiling  of  an  unwary  traveller,  takes  no  thought 
at  first  of  the  plunder,  but  smites  its  owner  with 
the  sword,  because  it  is  he  that  is  the  obstacle  and 
hindrance  in  the  fight,  that  when  he  perishes  the 
victorious  brigand  may  take  and  carrv*  off  his  clothes, 
enriching  himself  from  the  body  that  can  no  longer 
withstand  him,  so  the  house  placed  under  man's 
control,  the  world  ^^•ith  all  its  riches,  fell  an  easy  prey 
to  destruction  when  its  lord  sinned,  and  already 
became  corrupt  by  absorbing  the  evil  from  its  master. 
Then  it  was  that  the  niggard  land  from  its  infertile 
soil  dared  to  bring  forth  darnel  and  light  burs  * 
over  polluted  fields,  and  spoiled  the  wheat  crop  with 

•  Cf.  Genesis  iii,  17-18. 

219 


PRUDENTIUS 

iamque  iugo  edomitos  rictu  laniare  iuvencos  220 

occiso  pastore  truces  didicere  leones. 

nee  non  et  querulis  balatibus  inritatus 

plenas  nocte  lupus  studuit  perrumpere  caulas. 

omne  animal  diri  callens  sollertia  furti 

inbuit  et  tortos  acuit  fallacia  sensus.  225 

quamvis  maceries  florentes  ambiat  hortos, 

saepibus  et  densis  vallentur  vitea  rura, 

aut  populator  edet  gemmantia  germina  bruchus, 

aut  avibus  discerpta  feris  lacerabitur  uva. 

quid  loquar  herbarum  fibras  medicante  veneno    230 

tinctas  letiferi  fudisse  pericula  suci  ? 

noxius  in  teneris  sapor  aestuat  ecce  frutectis, 

cum  prius  innocuas  tulerit  natura  cicutas, 

roscidus  et  viridem  qui  vestit  flos  rhododaphnen 

pabula  lascivis  dederit  sincera  capellis.  235 

ipsa  quoque  oppositum  destructo  foedere  certo 

transcendunt     elementa     modum     rapiuntque 

ruuntque 
omnia  legirupis  quassantia  viribus  orbem. 
frangunt  umbriferos  aquilonum  proelia  lucos, 
et  cadit  inmodicis  silva  exstirpata  procellis.  240 

parte  alia  violentus  aquis  torrentibus  amnis 
transilit  obiectas,  praescripta  repagula,  ripas 
et  vagus  eversis  late  dominatur  in  agris. 
nee  tamen  his  tantam  rabiem  nascentibus  ipse 
conditor  instituit,  sed  laxa  licentia  rerum  245 

turbavit  placidas  rupto  moderamine  leges. 
nee  mirum  si  membra  orbis  concussa  rotantur, 
si  vitiis  agitata  suis  mundana  laborat 

220 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

grainless  wild-oats.  Then,  too,  fierce  lions  learned  to 
kill  the  herdsman  and  feed  on  the  blood  of  harmless 
cattle  and  tear  with  their  jaws  bullocks  already  broken 
in  to  the  yoke  ;  and  the  wolf  by  night,  stirred  up  by 
the  plaintive  bleating,  sought  to  burst  into  the  full 
sheepfolds.  Skill  versed  in  cruel  stratagem  tainted 
every  creature,  and  craft  sharpened  the  senses  it  had 
perverted.  Though  a  wall  surround  flourishing 
gardens  and  vine-covered  lands  be  enclosed  with 
thick-set  hedges,  yet  either  will  the  wasting  locust 
devour  the  budding  shoots,  or  the  grape-clusters  be 
torn  and  mangled  by  wild  birds.  Little  need  is  there 
to  tell  how  the  tissues  of  plants  were  tinctured  with 
j)oisonous  drugs  ro  that  there  flowed  from  them  a 
juice  fraught  Anth  the  risk  of  death,  which  all  at  once 
billowed  Up,  noxious  to  taste,  in  tender  bushes, 
though  nature  formerly  bore  hemlock  that  was  harm- 
less and  the  dewy  flower  that  clothes  the  green 
rhododaphne  offered  honest  feeding  to  the  sportive 
kids.  The  very  elements,  too,  breaking  down  estab-"*^ 
lished  order,  overpass  the  bounds  set  for  them  and  ' 
ravage  all  things  with  their  havoc,  shaking  the  world 
with  lawless  strength.  The  warring  winds  shiver  the 
shady  groves ;  the  forest  falls,  uprooted  by  unruly 
storms.  Elsewhere  a  boisterous  river  with  its  rushing 
waters  leaps  over  the  banks  appointed  to  hold  it  in 
check,  and  spreading  abroad  lords  it  far  and  wide 
over  the  ruined  fields.  Yet  the  creator  ordained  no~^ 
such  raging  for  the  elements  at  their  birth,  but  the 
loose  indiscipline  of  the  world,  breaking  through 
control,  upset  its  peaceful  laws.  And  no  wonder  if 
the  world's  parts  are  shaken  and  tossed,  if  the 
machinery  of  the  universe  fails  to  work  smoothly 
because  it  is  throwm  out  of  order  by  faults  in  itself. 


PRUDENTIUS 

machina,  si  terras  luis  incentiva  fatigat : 
exemplum  dat  vita  hominum,  quo  cetera  peccent,  250 
vita  hominum,  cui  quidquid  agit  vesania  et  error 
suppeditant,  ut  bella  fremant,  ut  fluxa  voluptas 
diffluat,  inpuro  fervescat  ut  igne  libido, 
sorbeat  ut  cumulos  nummorum  faucibus  amplis 
gurges  avaritiae,  finis  quam  nullus  habendi  255 

temperat  aggestis  addentem  vota  talentis. 
auri  namque  fames  parto  fit  maior  ab  auro. 
inde  seges  scelerum,  radix  et  sola  malorum, 
dum  scatebras  fluviorum  omnes  et  operta  metalla 
eliquat  ornatus  solvendi  leno  pudoris,  260 

dum  venas  squalentis  humi  scrutatur  inepta 
ambitio  scalpens  naturae  occulta  latentis, 
si  quibus  in  foveis  radiantes  forte  lapillos 
rimata  inveniat.     nee  enim  contenta  decore 
ingenito  externam  mentitur  femina  formam  265 

ac,  velut  artificis  Domini  manus  inperfectum 
OS  dederit,  quod  adhuc  res  exigat  aut  hyacinthis 
pingere  sutilibus  redimitae  frontis  in  arce, 
colla  vel  ignitis  sincera  incingere  sertis, 
auribus  aut  gravidis  virides  suspendere  bacas,      270 
nectitur  et  nitidis  concharum  calculus  albens 
crinibus  aureolisque  riget  coma  texta  catenis. 
taedet  sacrilegas  matrum  percurrere  curas, 
muneribus  dotata  Dei  quae  plasmata  fuco 
inficiunt,  ut  pigmentis  cutis  inlita  perdat  275 

quod  fuerat,  falso  non  agnoscenda  colore, 
haec  sexus  male  fortis  agit,  cui  pectore  in  arto 
mens  fragilis  facili  vitiorum  fluctuat  aestu. 


222 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

and  the  urge  that  plagues  it  gives  the  earth  no  rest ; 
for  the  life  of  man  sets  an  example  for  all  else  to  sin,-\ 
the  hfe  of  man,  whose  every  act  is  prompted  by  folly  | 
and  delusion,  so  that  wars  rage,  loose  pleasure  wan- 
tons, lust  grows  hot  with  its  unclean  fire,  and  the 
maw  of  greed  swallows  piles  of  money  down  its  wide 
throat,  since  no  limit  of  possession  controls  it  and  it 
only  puts  new  desires  on  top  of  the  riches  it  has 
amassed.  For  the  hunger  for  gold  only  grows  keener 
from  the  gold  it  has  got.  Hence  comes  a  crop  of"^ 
sins  and  the  sole  root  of  evil,  for  the  love  of  finery,  / 
that  like  a  pander  unlooses  the  restraints  of  modesty, 
strains  all  the  gushing  waters  of  streams  and  the 
buried  ores,  and  misplaced  zeal,  probing  the  dirty 
earth,  scrapes  out  what  nature  has  hidden  away  in 
secret,  in  hope  to  find  some  little  gUstening  stones  in 
some  of  its  diggings  to  reward  its  rummaging.  For 
woman,  not  content  vriih  her  natural  grace,  puts  on 
a  false  and  adventitious  beauty,  and  as  if  the  hand . 
of  the  Lord  who  made  her  had  given  her  a  face  that 
was  unfinished,  so  that  she  must  needs  further  em- 
bellish it  with  sapphires  mounted  on  a  circlet  round 
her  brow  to  crown  it,  or  surround  her  chaste  neck 
with  strings  of  glowing  gems,  or  hang  a  weight  of 
green  jewels  from  her  ears,  she  even  fastens  the  little 
white  stones  from  sea-shells  in  her  hair  to  brighten 
it,  and  her  braided  tresses  are  held  in  place  with 
bands  of  gold.  It  were  wearisome  to  detail  all  the 
profane  trouble  matrons  take,  who  colour  the  forms 
which  God  has  dowered  with  his  gifts,  so  that  the 
painted  skin  loses  its  character  and  cannot  be 
recognised  under  the  false  hue.  Such  are  the  doings~" 
of  the  feebler  sex,  in  whose  narrow  mind  a  frail  in- 
telligence tosses  lightly  on  a  tide  of  sin.     But  even  J 

223 


PRUDENTIUS 

quid  quod  et  ipse  caput  muliebris  corporis  et  rex, 
qui  regit  invalidam  propria  de  came  resectam       280 
particulam,  qui  vas  tenerum  dicione  gubernat, 
solvitur  in  luxum?     cemas  mollescere  cultu 
heroas  vetulos,  opifex  quibus  aspera  membra 
finxerat  et  rigidos  duraverat  ossibus  artus, 
sed  pudet  esse  viros,  quaerunt  vanissima  quaeque  285 
quis  niteant,  genuina  leves  ut  robora  solvant. 
vellere  non  ovium,  sed  Eoo  ex  orbe  petitis 
ramorum  spoliis  fluitantes  sumere  amictus 
gaudent  et  durum  scutulis  perfundere  corpus, 
additur  ars,  ut  fila  herbis  saturata  recoctis  290 

inludant  varias  distincto  stamine  formas. 
ut  quaeque  est  lanugo  ferae  mollissima  tactu, 
pectitur.     hunc  videas  lascivas  praepete  cursu 
venantem  tunicas,  avium  quoque  versicolorum 
indumenta  no  vis  texentem  plumea  telis,  295 

ilium  pigmentis  redolentibus  et  peregrino 
pulvere  femineas  spargentem  turpiter  auras, 
omnia  luxus  habet  nostrae  vegetamina  vitae, 
sensibus  in  quinque  statuens  quae  condidit  auctor, 
auribus  atque  oculis,  tum  naribus  atque  palato     300 
quaeritur  infectus  vitiosis  artibus  usus ; 
ipse  etiam  toto  pollet  qui  corpore  tactus 
palpamen  tenerum  blandis  ex  fotibus  ambit, 
pro  dolor !  ingenuas  naturae  occumbere  leges, 
captivasque  trahi  regnante  libidine  dotes !  305 

"  I.e.  silk.     Virgil  (Oeorgics,  II,  121)  speaks  of  the  Seres 
"  combing  fine  fleeces  from  the  leaves." 

224 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

he  who  is  the  head  and  ruler  of  the  woman's  person, 
who  governs  the  weak  portion  cut  from  his  own 
flesh  and  bears  lordship  over  the  delicate  vessel,  lets 
himself  go  in  indulgence.  One  sees  strong  men,  no 
longer  yoimg,  turn  effeminate  in  their  self-refinement,  ) 
though  the  creator  made  their  bodies  rude  and  their  ' 
limbs  hard  with  bones  to  stiffen  them ;  but  they  are 
ashamed  to  be  men.  They  seek  after  the  greatest 
vanities  to  beautify  them,  so  that  in  their  light- 
mindedness  they  dissipate  their  native  strength. 
They  love  to  wear  flowing  robes  not  made  from  sheeps' 
fleeces  but  of  the  spoils  taken  from  branches  of 
trees  "  and  fetched  from  the  eastern  world,  and  to 
overlay  their  hardy  frames  \\ith  lozenge  broidery.* 
Art  is  called  in  to  make  yarns  soaked  in  decoctions 
of  plants  work  diverse  fancy  patterns  \\ith  threads  of 
different  colours.  Beasts'  coats  are  chosen  for  card- 
ing for  their  softness  to  the  touch.  One  man  is  seen 
chasing  hot-foot  after  luxuriant  tunics,  and  weaving 
downy  garments  with  strange  threads  from  many- 
coloured  birds,  another  shaming  himself  by  spreading 
womanish  scents  with  perfumed  paints  and  foreign 
powder.  Indulgence  is  master  of  all  the  active 
powers  of  our  life,  which  the  creator  made  and 
established  in  our  five  senses.  For  ears  and  eyes, 
and  for  nostrils  and  palate  we  seek  out  emplojinent 
which  is  tainted  with  \'icious  arts ;  and  even  touch, 
which  acts  over  our  whole  body,  courts  the  tender 
caress  of  alliu-ing  comforts.  What  grief  to  think  that 
nature's  native  laws  should  go  down,  and  her  gifts  ^ 
be  carried  away  captive  by  a  tyrant  passion !     Every  J 

*  Illustrations  of  garments  ornamented  in  this  way  may 
be  seen  in  Daremberg  et  Saglio,  Dictionnaire  des  atUiquitis 
grecques  et  romaines,  s.v.  segmentum. 

225 

VOL.  I.  I 


PRUDENTIUS 

perversum  ius  omne  viget,  dum  quidquid  hab- 
endum 
omnipotens  dederat  studia  in  contraria  vertunt. 
idcircone,  rogo,  speculatrix  pupula  molli 
subdita  palpebrae  est,  ut  turpia  semivirorum 
membra  theatrali  spectet  vertigine  ferri,  310 

incestans  miseros  foedo  oblectamine  visus  ? 
aut  ideo  spirant  mediaque  ex  arce  cerebri 
demittunt  geminas  sociata  foramina  nares, 
ut  bibat  inlecebras  male  conciliata  voluptas 
quas  pigmentato  meretrix  iacit  inproba  crine  ?    315 
num  propter  lyricae  modulamina  vana  puellae 
nervorumque  sonos  et  convivale  calentis 
carmen  nequitiae  patulas  Deus  addidit  aures 
perque  cavemosos  iussit  penetrare  meatus 
vocis  iter?   numquid  madido  sapor  inditus  ori       320 
vivit  ob  banc  causam,  medicata  ut  fercula  pigram 
ingluviem  vegetamque  gulam  ganeonis  inescent, 
per  varios  gustus  instructa  ut  prandia  ducat 
in  noctem  lassetque  gravem  sua  crapula  ventrem  ? 
quid  durum,  quid  molle  foret,  quid  lene,  quid 

horrens,  325 

quid  calidum  gelidumve,  Deus  cognoscere  nosmet 
ad  tactum  voluit  palpandi  interprete  sensu. 
at  nos  delicias  plumarum  et  linea  texta 
sternimus  atque  cutem  fulcro  adtenuante  polimus. 
felix  qui  indultis  potuit  mediocriter  uti  330 

muneribus  parcumque  modum  servare  fruendi, 
quem  locuples  mundi  species  et  amoena  venustas 
et  nitidis  fallens  circumflua  copia  rebus 
non  capit,  ut  puerum,  nee  inepto  addicit  amori, 
qui  sub  adumbrata  dulcedine  triste  venenum        335 
deprendit  latitare  boni  mendacis  operto. 
sed  fuit  id  quondam  nobis  sanctumque  bonumque 

226 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

power  is  perverted  in  its  action,  because  men  turn 
to  opposite  purposes  all  that  the  omnipotent  gave 
them  to  possess.  Has  the  seeing  pupil,  I  ask,  been 
set  under  the  soft  eyelid  merely  to  watch  the  shame- 
ful figures  of  eunuchs  whirling  in  the  theatre,  pollut- 
ing its  unhappy  vision  with  a  filthy  amusement  ?  Or 
do  we  have  a  pair  of  breathing  passages  that  lead 
from  the  centre  of  the  brain's  seat  to  our  two  nostrils, 
merely  that  an  ill-gotten  sense  of  pleasure  may  drink 
in  the  allurements  that  a  vile  harlot  throws  out  from 
her  greased  hair  ?  Was  it  for  the  vain  melodies  of  a 
girl  playing  on  a  lute,  the  sound  of  strings,  the  song 
inspired  by  inflamed  wickedness  at  a  banquet,  that 
God  gave  us  open  ears  and  ordained  a  passage  for 
the  voice  through  vaulted  ways  ?  Does  the  power 
to  savour,  which  is  imparted  to  the  moist  mouth, 
exist  only  for  spiced  dishes  to  tempt  the  gourmand's 
sluggish  appetite  and  give  his  palate  zest,  that  he 
may  prolong  feasts  of  many  courses  into  the  night 
and  load  his  belly  till  it  is  exhausted  with  its  own 
excess?  Hard  and  soft,  smooth  and  rough,  warm 
and  cold,  God  willed  that  we  should  learn  by  contact 
through  the  medium  of  the  sense  of  touch ;  but  we 
spread  voluptuous  downs  and  fabrics  of  linen,  and 
make  our  skin  fine  and  delicate  by  lying  on  a  couch. 
Happy  the  man  who  has  been  able  to  use  with  temper- 
ance the  gifts  granted  him,  and  to  keep  frugal 
measure  in  his  enjoyment  of  them,  whom  the  world's 
rich  display  with  its  pleasant  attraction  and  its  flowing 
abundance  of  lying  baubles  does  not  charm  like  a 
child,  nor  enslave  to  a  foolish  love,  who  detects  the 
deadly  poison  lurking  under  the  feigned  sweetness, 
in  concealment  under  what  falsely  claims  to  be 
good !     Yet  once  for  us  it  7vas  holy  and  good,  in  the 

227 


PRUDENTIUS 

principio  rerum,  Christus  cum  conderet  orbem. 
vidit  enim  Deus  esse  bonum  velut  ipse  Moyses 
historicus  mundi  nascentis  testificatus  340 

"  vidit,"  ait,  "  Deus  esse  bonum  quodcumque 

creavit." 
hoc  sequar,  hoc  stabili  conceptum  mente  tenebo, 
inspirante  Deo  quod  sanctus  vaticinator 
prodidit  antiquae  recolens  primordia  lucis, 
esse  bonum  quidquid  Deus  et  Sapientia  fecit.      345 
conditor   ergo    boni    Pater    est    et    cum    Patre 

Christus, 
nam  Deus,  atque  Deus  Pater  est  et  Filius  unum ; 
quippe  unum  natura  facit,  quae  constat  utrique 
una  voluntatis,  iuris,  virtutis,  amoris. 
non  tamen  idcirco  duo  numina  nee  duo  rerum      350 
artifices,  quoniam  generis  dissensio  nulla  est, 
atque  ideo  nulla  est  operis  distantia,  nulla 
ingenii,  peperit  bona  omnia  conditor  unus. 
nil  luteum  de  fonte  fluit  nee  turbidus  umor 
nascitur  aut  primae  violatur  origine  venae,  355 

sed  dum  liventes  liquor  incorruptus  harenas 
praelambit,  putrefacta  inter  contagia  sordet. 
numquid  equus,  ferrum,  taurus,  leo,  funis,  olivum 
in  se  vim  sceleris,  cum  formarentur,  habebant  ? 
quod  iugulatur  homo,  non  ferrum  causa  furoris    360 
sed  manus  est ;   nee  equum  vesania  fervida  circi 
auctorem  levitatis  habet  rabidive  fragoris  : 
mens  vulgi  rationis  inops,  non  cursus  equorum 
perfui'it :   infami  studio  perit  utile  donum. 
sic  Lacedaemonias  oleo  maduisse  palaestras         365 
novimus  et  placidum  servire  ad  crimina  sucum, 
inde  per  aerium  pendens  audacia  funem 


228 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

beginning  of  things,  when  Christ  created  the  world. 
For  God  saw  that  it  was  good,  as  Moses,  the  historian 
of  the  world's  birth,  bears  ^\itness  :  "  God,"  he  says, 
"  saw  that  all  his  creation  was  good."  This  faith  I 
shall  follow  and  hold  it  firmly  grasped  in  my  mind, 
this  that  the  holy  prophet,  surveying  the  beginnings 
of  light  in  ancient  times,  has  declared  under  God's 
inspiration,  that  all  that  God  and  Wisdom  created 
was  good.  The  creator  of  good,  then,  is  the  Father 
and,  with  the  Father,  Christ ;  for  He  is  God,  and 
God  the  Father  and  the  Son  are  one  being,  in  as 
much  as  they  are  made  one  by  the  one  nature  of 
will  and  authority  and  power  and  love  which  is 
common  to  both  Yet  are  there  not  therefore  two 
Gods  nor  two  creators,  since  there  is  no  divergence 
of  being  and  therefore  no  separation  of  work  or  of 
mind,  but  it  is  one  creator  who  made  all  things  good. 
There  is  no  muddy  flow  from  the  fountain-head,  the 
water  is  not  turbid  at  its  rise,  nor  made  unclean  as 
it  springs  from  its  source ;  but  as  the  pure  stream 
washes  the  dirty  sand  along  its  banks  it  is  befouled 
by  contact  with  decay.  Did  horse  and  iron  and  bull 
and  lion  and  rope  and  oil  have  anv  ^\^ckedness  in 
them  when  they  were  made  ?  In  the  murder  of  a 
man  it  is  not  the  iron  that  is  the  cause  of  violence, 
but  the  hand ;  and  when  the  frenzy  of  the  circus 
rages,  it  is  not  the  horse  that  is  responsible  for  the 
folly  or  the  furious  din :  it  is  the  unreasoning  mob, 
not  the  running  of  horses,  that  goes  mad,  and  so  a 
useful  gift  is  wasted  through  a  base  passion.  Thus  it 
Is  that,  as  we  know,  the  wrestlers  in  the  Spartan 
schools  were  drenched  with  oil,  and  that  gentle  Uquor 
was  put  to  the  service  of  sin ;  hence  it  is  that  a  man 
boldly  mounts  high  up  on  the  stage  along  a  rope  in 

229 


PRUDENTIUS 

ardua  securis  scandit  proscaenia  plantis, 
inde  feras  volucri  temeraria  corpora  saltu 
transiliunt  mortisque  inter  discrimina  ludunt.         370 
sanguinis  humani  spectacula  publicus  edit 
consensus  legesque  iubent  venale  parari 
supplicium,    quo    membra    hominum    discerpta 

cruentis 
morsibus  oblectent  hilarem  de  funere  plebem. 
mille  alia  stolidi  bacchantia  gaudia  mundi  375 

percensere  piget,  quae  veri  oblita  Tonantis 
humanum  miseris  volvunt  erroribus  aevum. 
nemo    animum   sumimi    memorem   genitoris    in 

altum 
excitat,  ad  caelum  mittit  suspiria  nemo, 
nee  recolens  apicem  solii  natalis  ad  ipsum  380 

respicit  auctorem,  nee  spem  super  aera  librat, 
sed  mentem  gravidis  contentam  stertere  curis 
indigno  subdit  domino  perituraque  pronus 
diligit  et  curvo  quaerit  terrestria  sensu. 
hoc    pulchrum    quod    terra    parit,    quod    gloria 

confert  385 

lubrica,  commendat  quod  perniciosa  voluptas, 
quod  velut  excitus  difflato  pulvere  ventus 
praeterit,  exemplo  tenuis  quod  transvolat  umbrae, 
his  aegras  animas  morborum  pestibus  urget 
praedo  potens,  tacitis  quem  viribus  interfusum     390 
corda   bibunt   hominum ;     serit   ille   medullitus 

omnes 
nequitias  spargitque  suos  per  membra  ministros. 
namque  illic  numerosa  cohors  sub  principe  tali 


"  The  rope-dancer  had  long  been  popular.     In  one  kind  of 
performance  the  rope  was  stretched  obliquely  from  the  level 

230 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

mid  air  with  confident  steps  <• ;  hence  that  rash  figures 
spring  with  flying  leap  over  wild  beasts  and  sf)ort 
amid  the  risks  of  death.  It  is  the  general  public 
taste  that  produces  exhibitions  of  human  blood,  and 
law  commands  the  provision  of  men  who  are  paid  to 
suffer  torture,*  so  that  the  tearing  of  human  Hmbs 
asunder  by  blood-stained  jaws  may  divert  a  populace 
that  makes  merrj'  at  the  sight  of  death.  I  care  not 
to  review  the  thousand  other  wanton  pleasures  of 
the  senseless  world,  which  in  forgetfulness  of  the  true 
Thunderer  enwTap  men's  life  in  pitiable  delusions. 
None  lifts  on  high  a  heart  that  remembers  the 
supreme  Father,  none  utters  a  sigh  towards  heaven, 
nor  calls  to  mind  the  lofty  throne  of  his  origin  and 
casts  a  thought  upon  his  maker,  nor  launches  his 
hopes  beyond  the  skies.  To  an  unworthy  master 
men  subject  a  spirit  that  is  content  to  sleep  heavily 
under  the  cares  that  weigh  on  it,  with  down-bent 
head  they  set  their  hearts  on  what  is  doomed  to 
perish,  and  with  eyes  on  the  ground  seek  after 
earthly  things.  That  they  count  lovely  which  is  bom 
of  earth,  or  bestowed  by  shifting  reputation,  or  set 
off  by  baneful  pleasure,  that  which  passes  like  a  whiff 
of  wind  that  has  scattered  the  dust,  or  flits  by  like 
an  unsubstantial  shade.  With  these  plagues  of  sin 
the  powerful  robber  besets  our  sickened  souls.  With' 
his  stealthy  forces  he  infiltrates  into  men's  hearts  and 
they  draw  him  in.  He  sows  all  manner  of  wickedness 
in  their  inmost  parts,  and  scatters  his  agents  through 
their  frames.     For  there  a  large  force  serves  under 

of  the  stage  to  a  high  platform,  the  performer  going  up  on 
one  side  and  down  on  the  other. 

*  Bestiarii,  trained  to  fight  wild  beasts  and  paid  for  their 
performances  in  the  arena. 

231 


PRUDENTIUS 

militat  horrendisque  animas  circumsidet  armis, 

Ira,  Superstitio,  Maeror,  Discordia,  Luctus,i         395 

Sanguinis  atra  Sitis,  Vini  Sitis  et  Sitis  Auri, 

Livor,  Adulterium,  Dolus,  Obtrectatio,  Furtum. 

informes  horrent  facies  habituque  minaces. 

Ambitio  ventosa  tumet,  Doctrina  superbit, 

personal  Eloquium,  nodos  Fraus  abdita  nectit.     400 

inde  canina  foro  latrat  Facundia  toto, 

hinc  gerit  Herculeam  vilis  Sapientia  clavam, 

ostentatque  suos  vieatim  gymnosophistas, 

incerat  lapides  fumosos  Idololatrix 

Religio  et  surdis  pallens  advolvitur  aris.  405 

heu  quantis  mortale  genus  premit  inprobus  hostis 

armigeris,  quanto  ferrata  satellite  ductor 

bella  gerit,  quanta  victos  dicione  triumphat ! 

surgit    in    auxilium    Chananeus    atque    agmina 

denset 
casside  terribilis,  saetarum  pondera  mento  410 

concutiens     dextramque     gravi     cum     cuspide 

quassans. 
ast  alia  de  parte  furens  exercitus  ardet 
regis  Amorraei,  turn  milia  Gergeseorum 
efFundunt  aciem  toto  volitantia  campo ; 
eminus  hi  feriunt,  confligunt  comminus  illi.  415 

ecce  Zebusiacae  fervent  ad  proelia  turmae, 
aurea  tela  quibus  de  sanguine  tincta  draconis 
mortifero    splendore    micant    radiantque 

necantque. 
nee  non  terrificas  pilis  armare  catervas 

^  Some  MSS.  of  both  classes  have  luxus. 

°  A  stout  staff  is  spoken  of  as  a  characteristic  appanage 
of  philosophers.     C/.  Sidonius,  Carm.  15, 197. 

232 


1 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

this  wicked  commander  and  invests  men's  souls  Math 
dreadful  weapons — Anger,  Superstition,  Sickness-of- 
Heart,  Strife,  Affliction,  foul  Thirst-for-Blood,  Thirst- 
for-Wine,  Thirst-for-Gold,  Malice,  Adultery,  Craft, 
Slander,  Theft.  Hideous  and  frightful  are  their 
shapes,  threatening  their  carriage.  \'aunting  Ambi- 
tion is  puffed  up.  Learning  is  proud,  Eloquence 
thunders,  Deceit  contrives  snares  in  secret.  Here 
Abusive  Speech  snarls  throughout  the  courts,  there 
paltry  Philosophy  wields  the  club  "  of  Hercules  and 
displays  her  naked  Sages  *  through  the  streets,  while 
Idolatry  coats  smoke-grimed  stones  ^\^th  wax  <^  and 
in  pale  fear  falls  prostrate  before  altars  that  cannot 
hear.  Alas,  with  what  armed  forces  does  the  ruth- 
less enemy  press  upon  the  race  of  men,  with  what 
attendant  trains  under  his  command  does  he  wage 
his  iron  wars,  with  what  dominion  triumph  over  the 
conquered !  The  Canaanite  rises  up  to  his  aid  with 
close-set  columns  and  daunting  helm,  shaking  the 
weight  of  bristly  beard  on  his  chin  and  wa\-ing  the 
hand  that  grasps  his  heavy  spear.  On  another  side 
in  burning  rage  stands  the  army  of  the  king  of  the 
Amorites,  and  the  Girgashites  in  their  thousands 
pour  out  in  array  and  come  flying  over  the  field. 
Some  smite  from  a  distance,  others  join  in  close 
combat.  See,  the  squadrons  of  the  Jebusites  are 
hot  for  battle ;  their  golden  weapons,  dipped  in 
serpent's  blood,  with  death-dealing  lustre  glitter  and 
gleam  and  slay.     It  is  thy  pleasure  too,  O  Hittite, 

*  "  Gymnosophist  "  is  properly  a  word  used  by  the  Greeks 
to  describe  certain  Indian  ascetics.  Prudentius  may  be  think- 
ing of  the  CjTiics,  who  are  often  satirised  for  their  "  nakedness  " 
(c/.  Juvenal,  13,  122;    14,  309). 

'  See  note  on  Apotheosis,  457. 

233 
1  2 


PRUDENTIUS 

te,  Cittaee,  iuvat ;  sed  gens  Pherezaea  sagittis        420 
insultat  virtute  pari,  sed  dispare  ferro. 
postremum  cuneum  rex  promovet  F.uvaeorum 
squamosum  thoraca  gerens  de  pelle  colubri. 
his  subnixa  viris  scelerum  perversa  potestas 
edomat  invalidas  mantes,  quae  simplicitate  425 

indociles  bellique  rudes  sub  foedere  falso 
tristis  amicitiae  primum  socia  agmina  credunt, 
Mammoneamque      fidem      pacis      sub     amore 

sequuntur. 
mox  faciles  ad  vincla  rapi  iuga  dura  volentes 
addictis  subeunt  cervicibus,  et  nebulonum  430 

spirituum  iussis  servire  ferocibus  optant. 
ille,  supervacuis  augens  patrimonia  fundis 
finitimisque  inhians  contempto  limite  agellis, 
ducitur  innexus  manicis  et  mille  catenis 
ante  triumphales  currus  post  terga  revinctus,  435 

nee  se  barbaricis  addictum  sentit  habenis. 
hie,  qui  ventosae  scandit  fastigia  famae 
inflaturque  cavo  pompae  popularis  honore, 
qui   summum   solidumque   bonum  putat   ambi- 

tionis 
crescere  successu,  praeconum  voce  trementes       440 
exanimare  reos,  miserorum  in  corpora  fasces 
frangere,  terribiles  legum  exercere  secures, 
in     laqueum    iam    colla    dedit,    iam    compede 

dura 
nectitur  et  pedibus  servilia  vincula  limat. 
credite,  captivi  mortales,  hostica  quos  iam         445 
damnatos  cohibent  ergastula,  quos  famulatu 
poenarum  virtus  non  intellecta  coercet, 


"  Cf.  Joshua  xxiv,  11. 
234 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

to  arm  dread  companies  with  javelins.  But  the  tribe 
of  the  Perizzites  come  at  us  with  arrows,  their 
courage  Uke  thine,  though  their  weapon  is  unlike. 
Last  of  all  the  king  of  the  Hi\ites  brings  up  his 
regiment,  wearing  a  scaly  breast-plate  of  snake- 
skin."  With  these  warriors  to  support  him  the  per- 
verse prince  of  e\dl  overcomes  weak  souls,  which  in 
artless  ignorance,  unused  to  warfare,  trust  in  a  false 
treaty  of  ill-starred  friendship  and  at  first  take  them 
for  alUes,  and  so  become  subjects  of  Mammon ; 
through  their  love  of  peace.  Then  they  are  carried, 
away  to  bondage,  easy  victims,  who  willingly  sur- 
render their  necks  to  the  hard  yoke  and  of  their  own 
choice  obey  the  insolent  commands  of  ne'er-do-well 
spirits.  That  man,  who  is  enlarging  his  inheritance 
with  properties  he  does  not  need,  and,  scorning  the 
boundar}'  between,  casts  longing  eyes  on  his  neigh- 
bour's bit  of  land,  is  being  led  in  shackles  before  the 
triumphal  cars,  fettered  with  a  thousand  chains 
behind  his  back,  and  yet  does  not  reahse  that  he  is 
made  over  to  cruel  bondage.  This  one,  who  climbs 
the  heights  of  windy  reputation  and  is  puffed  up 
with  the  unsubstantial  fame  of  popular  display,  who 
thinks  it  the  chief  and  only  real  good  to  succeed 
in  pashing  himself  farther  and  farther  forward,  to 
terrify  prisoners  at  the  bar  who  tremble  at  the  voice 
of  the  criers,  to  break  the  rods  on  poor  ^vretches' 
bodies  and  wield  the  terror-striking  axes  of  the  law, 
has  already  put  his  head  into  the  noose,  already  he  is 
boxmd  with  the  hard  fetter  and  rubbing  smooth  with 
his  feet  the  shackles  of  slaver}'.  Beheve,  ye  captive 
mortals,  who  are  condemned  to  confinement  in  your 
enemy's  prison-house,  who  are  kept  in  durance  under 
the  bondage  of  punishment  because  you   did  not 

235 


PRUDENTIUS 

haec  ilia  est  Babylon,  haec  transmigratio  nostrae 

gentis  et  horribilis  victoria  principis  Assur, 

carmine  luctifico  quam  deflens  Hieremias  450 

orbatam  propriis  ululavit  civibus  urbem. 

num  latet  aut  dubium  est  animas  de  semine  lacob 

exilium  gentile  pati,  quas  Persica  regna 

captivas  retinent  atque  in  sua  foedera  cogunt  ? 

illic  natali  desuescunt  vivere  ritu  455 

moribus  et  patriis  exutae  in  barbara  iura 

degenerant   linguamque   novara   vestemque 

sequuntur, 
deque  profanato  discunt  sordescere  cultu 
nutricemque  abolent  petulanti  e  pectore  Sion. 
iam    patriae    meminisse    piget,    iam    mystica 

frangunt  460 

organa  et  externi  laudant  anathemata  regni. 
nonne  fuit  melius  saevum  Memphitidis  aulae 
imperium  tolerasse  patres  penitusque  sinistris 
adsedisse  focis,  positos  Pharaonis  iniqui 
sub  pedibus,  limo  et  paleis  servire  paratos,  465 

carnis  et  inmodicae  spurco  ructamine  crudos  ? 
quo  tantum  auxilii  per  prodigialia  signa 
efFudit  Dominus,  populum  dum  forte  rebellem 
servat  ope  inmerita,  vinclis  dum  subdita  colla 
solvit  et  Aegyptum  virga  serpente  coercet  ?  470 

quid  iuvat  aequoreum  pelago  cedente  profundum 
pulverea  calcasse  via,  cum  conscia  ponti 
saxa  sub  ignoto  patuerunt  prodita  caelo 
aruit  et  medio  sitiens  in  gurgite  limus, 
si  victor  virtute  Dei  mediasque  tenebras  475 

luce  columnari  scindens  exercitus  olim 


Cf.  2  Kings  xxiv,  10  ff.  "  Cf.  Exodus  xvi,  3. 

"  Exodus  vii,  10. 


236 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

understand  goodness,  this  is  the  Babylon  ye  have 
heard  of,  this  is  the  removal  of  our  race  "  and  the 
fearful  conquest  of  the  king  of  Assyria  which 
Jeremiah  bewailed  in  his  song  of  lamentation,  weep- 
ing for  a  city  bereft  of  her  people.  Is  it  not  known 
beyond  doubt  that  the  souls  of  the  seed  of  Jacob 
suffer  exile  among  the  Gentiles,  held  in  captivity 
by  the  realms  of  Persia  and  compelled  to  join  with 
them  ?  There  they  forget  the  way  of  life  to  which 
they  were  born,  and  shedding  their  native  manners, 
debase  themselves  to  obey  heathen  laws,  adopt  new 
speech  and  dress,  learn  to  befoul  themselves  v,-iih 
unhallowed  worship,  and  efface  from  their  froward 
heart  all  thought  of  Zion,  their  nurse.  They  care  not 
any  longer  to  remember  their  own  country',  they 
break  their  holy  instruments  of  music,  and  speak  well 
of  the  sacrifices  of  a  foreign  kingdom.  Had  it  not 
been  better  that  their  fathers  should  have  borne  A^ith 
the  cruel  government  of  the  court  of  Memphis  and 
sat  well  in  by  hearths  unfriendly,  under  the  oppressor 
Pharaoh's  feet  ready  to  be  the  slaves  of  clay  and 
straw,  and  eating  their  fill  of  flesh  till  they  belched 
disgustfuUy  from  the  surfeit  ?  *  To  what  end  did  the 
Lord  lavish  all  that  help  by  miraculous  signs,  saving 
a  rebelUous  people  with  succour  they  did  not  deserve, 
freeing  their  necks  from  the  bonds  laid  on  them  and 
constraining  Egypt  ^^•ith  the  rod  that  crawled  ?  '^ 
What  profits  it  to  have  trodden  the  deep  waters  by 
a  sandy  path  while  the  sea  made  way,  when  rocks 
that  had  felt  the  main  lay  exposed  under  a  sky  they 
knew  not,  and  the  slime  grew  dry  and  parched  in  the 
midst  of  the  flood,  if  the  host  that  once  conquered 
by  the  power  of  God  and  cut  through  the  darkness 
\\ith  a  pillared  light  has  lost  the  rich  valley  where  it 

237 


PRUDENTIUS 

perdidit  invent!  vallem  botryonis  opimam, 

si  nescit  vers  are  solum,  cui  melle  perenni 

glaeba  fluens  niveos  permiscet  lactea  rivos, 

si  domitam  lerichon  lituis  atque  aere  canoro         480 

rursus  in  antiques  patitur  consurgere  muros, 

si  ripis  reflui  lordanis  pellitur  et  iam 

deserit  adscriptam  dimensa  in  iugera  sortem, 

denique  si  structam  tantis  sudoribus  urbem 

et  quae  nubigenas  transcendunt  culmina  nimbos    485 

defensare  nequit,  si  nescit  quis  lapis  ille  est 

hostibus  obsistens  et  inexpugnabile  turris 

praesidium,  quern  non  aerato  machina  rostro 

arietat  insiliens,  nee  ferrea  verbera  quassant? 

angulus  hie  portae  in  capite  est,  hie  continet 

omnem  490 

saxorum  seriem  constructaque  limina  firmat. 
quern  qui  rite  suis  per  propugnacula  muris 
noverit  insertum,  seque  ac  sua  moenia  vallo 
praecingat  triplici  celsa  stans  eminus  arce, 
fretus  amore  petrae  castis  et  pervigil  armis,  495 

non  ilium  regina  Tyri,  non  aeeola  magni 
Euphratis  Parthus  rapiet,  non  decolor  Indus 
tempora  pinnatis  redimitus  nigra  sagittis. 
quin  si  fulmineos  cogens  ad  bella  gigantas 
allophilus  tua  castra  velit  delere  tyrannus,  500 

tutus  eris,  nee  te  firma  statione  movebit 
ipse  Charon  mundi,  numen  Marcionis,  ipse, 
qui  regit  aerio  vanas  sub  sole  tenebras. 
nam  vanum  quidquid  sol  aspicit,  ex  elementis 

"  Numbers  xiii,  23-27. 
*  C/.  Joshua  iii,  16. 
"  Joshua  xiii-xix. 

■^  The  word  dXX6<f>vXos  =  "  alien,"  but  is  used  particularly  of 
the  Philistines.   Cf.  the  heading  of  Psalm  56  in  the  Septuagint 

238 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

found  the  bunch  of  grapes,"  if  it  cannot  work  the  soil 
where  the  land  flows  with  honey  unceasing  and 
colours  the  streams  snow-white  \vith  its  milk,  if  it 
suffers  Jericho,  after  being  subdued  by  the  loud 
brazen  trumpet,  once  more  to  rise  to  the  height  of 
her  ancient  walls,  if  it  is  driven  from  the  banks  of 
Jordan,  which  stayed  its  waters,*  and  abandons  the 
lands  that  were  allotted  in  apportioned  measures,* 
if  it  cannot  defend  the  city  that  was  built  with  such 
labour,  and  the  high  tops  that  rise  beyond  the  cloud- 
bom  storms,  if  it  knows  not  which  is  that  stone  that 
withstands  the  foe  like  an  impregnable  tower  of 
defence,  which  no  engine  of  war  leaping  upon  it  can 
batter  down  wi^h  its  brazen  snout,  nor  blows  of  iron 
shake  ?  This  is  the  keystone  at  the  head  of  the 
gateway ;  this  it  is  that  holds  together  the  whole 
course  of  blocks  and  makes  the  structure  of  the 
entrance  firm.  If  a  man  knows  that  this  stone  is 
duly  set  in  the  defences  of  his  walls  and  girds  him- 
self and  his  stronghold  with  a  threefold  rampart, 
while  he  stands  at  a  distance  on  his  lofty  citadel  in 
reliance  on  the  love  of  the  stone,  watching  and 
keeping  his  armour  clean,  such  a  man  neither  queen 
of  Tyre  nor  Parthian  that  dwells  by  great  Euphrates 
shall  ravish,  nor  swarthy  Indian  whose  black  brows 
are  \\Teathed  with  feathered  arrows.  Even  should 
the  prince  of  the  PhiUstines  **  gather  his  fiery  giants 
for  war  and  seek  to  destroy  thy  camp,  thou  \\'ilt  be 
safe,  nor  will  the  very  Charon  of  the  world,  Marcion's 
deity,  he  who  rules  over  the  unsubstantial  realm  of 
darkness  below  the  sun  in  the  sky,  dislodge  thee 
from  thy  strong  post.     For  all  that  the  sun  looks 

and  Vulgate.  Prudentius  uses  it  again  in  Tit.  Hist.  XAriii,  3 
{cf.  Judges  XV,  5). 


PRUDENTIUS 

cuncta  solubilibus  fluxoque  creamine  constant.      505 
fallo,  creaturam  nisi  doctor  apostolus  omnem 
subiectam  vanis  non  sponte  laboribus  orsus 
periuro  ingemuit  miserans  servire  latroni : 
"  errat  "  ait,  "  qui  luctamen  cum  sanguine  nobis 
et  carne  et  venis  ferventibus  et  vitioso  510 

felle  putat  calidisque  animam  peccare  medullis. 
non  mentem  sua  membra  premunt,  nee  terrea 

virtus 
oppugnat  sensus  liquidos  bellove  laeessit, 
sed  cum  spiritibus  tenebrosis  nocte  dieque 
congredimur,  quorum  dominatibus  umidus  iste     515 
et  pigris  densus  nebulis  obtemperat  aer." 
scilicet  hoc  medium,  caelum  inter  et  infima  terrae 
quod  patet  et  vacuo  nubes  suspendit  hiatu, 
frena  potestatum  variarum  sustinet  ac  sub 
principe  Belia  rectoribus  horret  iniquis.  520 

his  conluctamur  praedonibus,  ut  sacra  nobis 
oris  apostolici  testis  sententia  prodit. 
nemo  habitum  naturae,  aut  inritamina  peccans 
corporis  accuset ;   facile  est  frenare  rebelles 
afFectus  carnis  nimiosque  retundere  pulsus  525 

materiae  fragilis  et  viscera  victa  domare. 
quippe  animus  longe  praestantior,  utpote  summo 
aethere  demissus,  subiectos  si  velit  artus 
imperio  quassare  gravi  iussisque  severis 
dedere,  regnanti  domino  vis  nulla  resistet.  530 

maior  inest  vis  ilia  homini,  quae  flatile  virus 
ingerit  et  tenuem  tenui  ferit  aere  mentem. 
Parthica  non  aeque  ventos  transcurrit  harundo, 


«  C/.  Romans  viii,  20-22. 
*  Cf.  Ephesians  vi,  12;  ii,  2. 

240 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

upon  is  unsubstantial ;    all  things  consist  of  mortal 
elements  and  transient  matter  of  creation.     I  plead 
guilty  to  deceiving,  if  the  apostle  >yho  instructs  us 
has  not  said  that  all  creation  is  subject,  not  willingly, 
to  vain  struggles,"  and  lamented  in  pity  that   it  is 
in  bondage  to  the  false  robber.     "  He  errs,"  says  he,  I 
"  who  supposes  that  our  contest  is  with  blood  and 
flesh,  with  burning  passions  of  the  body  and  cor- 1 
rupted  gall,  and  that  the  soul  sins  because  the  marrow 
is  hot.     It  is  not  its  body  that  bears  dovm  upon  the  "^ 
soul,  nor  earthly  power  that  attacks  the  pure  spirit      j 
and  makes  war  upon  it,  but  it  is  ^^^th  spirits  of  dark-     / 
ness  that  we  contend  night  and  day,  which  bear  rule    f 
over  the  damp  and  heavy-clouded  air."  *     All  this  J 
middle    region,    you    must    know,    which    stretches  \ 
between  the   heavens   and  the   earth  beneath   and 
suspends  the  clouds  in  its  great  empty  space,  upholds 
the  government  of  diverse  powers  and  is  the  grue- 
some seat  of  Ancked  rulers  under  the  command  of/ 
Belial.     It  is  with  these  robbers  that  we  \vrestle,  as  | 
the  holy  words  of  the  apostle's  mouth  testify  to  us.  j 
Let  no  man  blame  the  cast  of  his  nature  or  the  pro- 
vocation of  his  body  for  his  sin.     It  is  easy  to  curb 
the  rebellious  passions  of  the  flesh,  to  beat  do^\•n  the 
inordinate  impulses  of  frail  matter  and  conquer  and 
subdue  the  body.     For  the  spirit  by  far  excels  it, 
since  it  came  down  from  heaven  on  high,  and  if  it 
cares  to  break  ^\•ith  stern  rule  the  members  that  are 
put  under  it  and  subject  them  to  strict  command, 
no  force  can  withstand  its  royal  mastery.     But  there 
is  a  stronger  force  in  man,  one  that  attacks  him  -with 
a  breath  of  poison  and  strikes  the  subtile  soul  with 
a  subtile  air.     Not  so  quickly  through  the  breezes 
flies  the  Parthian  arrow,  whose  path  no  eye  can 

241 


n 


PRUDENTIUS 

cuius  iter  nullus  potis  est  conprendere  visus ; 
praepes   enim  volucres  dum  pennis  transvolat 

auras,  535 

inprovisa  venit,  nee  stridor  nuntiat  ante 
adventum  leti  quam  pectoris  abdita  rumpat, 
securam  penetrans  medicato  vulnere  vitam  ; 
sed  magis  aligera  est  magis  et  medicata  sagitta, 
quam  iacit  umbrosi  dominatio  lubrica  mundi,        540 
eludens  excussa  oculos  calamique  volantis 
praepete  transcursu  cordis  penetralia  figens. 
nee  segnis  natura  animae  est  aut  tarda  cavendi 
vulneris,  ignitum  quoniam  Deus  indidit  olli 
ingenium,  purum,  sapiens,  subtile,  serenum,         545 
mobile,  sollicitum,  velox,  agitabile,  acutum, 
factorem  modo  casta  suum  veneretur  et  ipsi 
militet  ac  victum  proculcet  sobria  mundum, 
nil  de  pestiferis  opibus  aut  falsificatis 
terrarum  spoliis  stulto  oblectamine  libans,  550 

ne  sub  fasce  iacens  alieno  et  dedita  regno 
non  queat  argutas  hostis  vitare  sagittas. 
sed  quid   ego  omne  malum  mundique  homin- 

umque  maligni 
hostis  ad  invidiam  detorqueo,  cum  mala  nostra 
ex  nostris  concreta  animis  genus  et  caput  et  vim,    555 
quid  sint,  quid  valeant,  sumant  de  corde  parente  ? 
ille  quidem  fomes  nostrorum  et  causa  malorum  est, 
sed  tantum  turbare  potest  aut  fallere  quantum 
nos  volumus,  qui  decrepito  suggesta  leoni 
armamenta  damus  :  friget  fera  futtile  frendens,  56  0 
humani  generis  ni  per  suffragia  gliscat. 
gignimus     omne     malum    proprio    de    corpore 

nostrum, 
ut  genuit  David,  alias  pater  optimus,  unum 
crimen  Abessalon ;  taetrum  pater  ille,  sed  unum, 

243 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

perceive ;  for  flitting  swifty  with  its  feathers  through  ' 
the  winged  airs  it  comes  unforeseen,  and  no  hissing 
proclaims  the  approach  of  death  before  it  bursts  its 
way  into  the  recesses  of  the  breast,  piercing  the  un- 
concerned Ufe  with  a  poisoned  wound ;  but  it  is  a 
swifter  arrow  with  a  deadlier  poison  that  the  deceitful 
lord  of  the  darksome  world  shoots,  one  that  baffles 
the  eye  when  it  is  launched,  and  with  the  quick 
passage  of  its  flying  shaft  pierces  the  inmost  heart.  !  - 
Yet  the  soul  is  not  naturally  sluggish  or  slow  to 
avoid  the  wound,  since  God  has  given  it  a  lively 
nature  that  is  pure,  wise,  delicate,  tranquil,  active, 
careful,  quick,  light-moving,  keen-edged :  if  it  but 
piously  reverence  its  maker  and  fight  in  his  service, 
and  in  soberness  overcome  the  world  and  trample  it 
under  foot,  tasting  not  in  foolish  enjoyment  any  of 
the  deadly  riches  or  fraudulent  spoils  of  the  earth,  lest, 
being  weighed  down  under  its  burden  and  given  over  , 
to  another's  rule,  it  be  unable  to  avoid  the  enemy's  j 
whizzing  arrows.  But  why  shift  all  the  evil  of  the*^ 
world  and  of  men  on  to  the  spite  of  a  malign  enemy,  f 
when  our  sins  grow  out  of  our  own  minds  and  take 
their  birth  and  source  and  power,  their  being  and 
their  strength  from  the  heart  which  begets  them  ? 
The  enemy  indeed  is  the  tinder  that  sets  our  sins 
alight,  but  he  can  only  trouble  or  deceive  us  to  the 
extent  that  we  are  willing.  It  is  we  who  furnish 
weapons  as  a  gift  to  the  enfeebled  lion ;  the  wild 
beast  flags  and  gnashes  his  teeth  to  no  purpose  unless 
he  gain  strength  from  the  favour  of  mankind.  We 
beget  all  our  sin  from  our  own  body,  just  as  David, 
who  was  otherwise  blessed  as  a  father,  begot  the  one 
guilty  Absalom.     In  that  instance  a  father  begot, 


243 


PRUDENTIUS 

innocuas  inter  suboles  genuit  patricidam,  565 

ausus  in  auctorem  generis  qui  stringere  ferrum 
(a  pietas  !)  signis  contraria  signa  paternis 
egit  et  unius  commisit  sanguinis  arma. 
nostra  itidem  diros  urente  propagine  natos 
pectora  parturiunt,  versis  qui  protinus  in  nos  570 

morsibus  insuescunt  gignentum  vivere  poenis ; 
depopulantur  enim  nimium  fecunda  parentum 
viscera  et  interitu  genitalis  stirpis  aluntur. 
progeniem  verum  ille  suam,  rex  utpote  summus 
atque  Dei  vates  pariturae  et  virginis  auctor,  575 

tristibus  atque  piis  variaverat,  ut  Solomonis 
frater  Abessalon  sereret  sua  crimina  iustis 
pigneribus  dulcemque  domum  turbaret  amaris. 
nos  dignum  Solomone  nihil,  nos  degener  inplet 
solus  Abessalon  lacerans  pia  viscera  ferro.  580 

si  licet  ex  ethicis  ^  quidquam  praesumere  vel  si 
de  physicis  exempli  aliquid,  sic  vipera,  ut  aiunt, 
dentibus  emoritur  fusae  per  viscera  prolis, 
mater  morte  sua,  non  sexu  fertilis  aut  de 
concubitu  distenta  uterum,  sed  cum  calet  igni     585 
percita  femineo,  moriturum  obscena  maritum 
ore  sitit  patulo ;   caput  inserit  ille  trilingue 
coniugis  in  fauces  atque  oscula  fervidus  intrat, 
insinuans  oris  coitu  genitale  venenum. 
nupta  voluptatis  vi  saucia  mordicus  haustum        590 
frangit  amatoris  blanda  inter  foedera  guttur, 
infusasque  bibit  caro  pereunte  salivas. 

^  Some  MSS.  have  ethnicis  {the  heathen),  which  Bergman 
adopts  as  being  the  reading  of  A. 


"  The  statement  about  the  viper  is  in  part  as  old  as  Herodo- 
tus (iii,  109). 

244 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

among  his  innocent  children,  a  horrid  patricide,  but 
only  one,  who  dared  to  draw  the  sword  against  the 
author  of  his  being  (alas,  for  filial  duty !),  set  forces 
in  motion  against  his  father's,  and  fought  against  his 
own  flesh  and  blood.  So  do  our  hearts  give  birth  J 
to  a  galling  breed  of  accursed  children  who  straight-  I 
way  turn  their  teeth  upon  us  and  learn  to  live  by  the  ' 
sufferings  of  their  begetters ;  for  they  waste  the  all 
too  fruitful  flesh  of  their  parents  and  feed  on  the 
death  of  the  stock  from  which  they  sprang.  But 
Da\id,  being  a  great  king  and  a  prophet  of  God  also, 
and  ancestor  of  the  \-irgin  who  was  to  bear  a  child, 
had  dutiful  as  well  as  unhappy  children,  so  that 
Solomon's  brother  Absalom  brought  his  crimes  into 
a  family  that  was  virtuous  and  troubled  a  pleasant 
household  with  his  sorrowful  deeds,  whereas  there  is 
nothing  in  us  to  be  compared  with  Solomon,  but  only 
the  debased  Absalom  who  tears  the  flesh  of  his  kin 
"\\ith  the  sword.  If  we  may  draw  on  the  moralists  for 
anything  or  take  an  instance  from  natural  history,"  it 
is  thus,  they  say,  that  the  viper  perishes  by  the  teeth 
of  the  progeny  that  is  brought  forth  through  her  flesh. 
She  becomes  a  mother  by  her  o^^Tl  death ;  she  does 
not  bear  her  young  by  an  organ  of  sex,  nor  does  her 
womb  swell  from  intercourse,  but  when  she  burns 
•with  the  excitement  of  the  female's  heat  the  lewd 
beast  opens  her  mouth  wide  in  thirst  for  a  mate  that 
is  doomed.  He  puts  his  three-tongued  head  into  his 
spouse's  jaws,  eagerly  entering  her  alluring  mouth 
and  inserting  his  baneful  seed  by  an  oral  union.  The 
bride,  smitten  \\ith  the  strong  pleasure,  takes  her 
lover's  head  between  her  teeth  and  breaks  his  neck 
>\'ith  a  bite  in  the  midst  of  their  fond  compact, 
drinking  in  the  injected  slaver  while  her  dear  one 

245 


PRUDENTIUS 

his  pater  inlecebris  consumitur,  at  genitricem 
clausa  necat  subolis ;    nam  postquam  semine 

adulto 
incipiunt  calidis  corpuscula  parva  latebris  595 

serpere  motatumque  uterum  vibrata  ferire, 
aestuat  interno  pietatis  crimine  mater 
carnificemque  gemit  damnati  conscia  sexus 
progeniem,  saepti  rumpentem  obstacula  partus, 
nam  quia  nascendi  nullus  patet  exitus,  alvus        600 
fetibus  in  lucem  nitentibus  excruciata 
carpitur  atque  viam  lacerata  per  ilia  pandit, 
tandem  obitu  altricis  prodit  grex  ille  dolorum 
ingressum  vitae  vix  eluctatus  et  ortum 
per  scelus  exculpens  ;  lambunt  natale  cadaver      605 
reptantes  catuli,  prolis  dum  nascitur  orba, 
baud  experta  diem  miserae  nisi  postuma  matris. 
non  dispar  nostrae  conceptus  mentis :    ab  ore 
vipereo  infusum  sic  conbibit  ilia  venenum 
coniuge  Beliade,  sic  oscula  devorat  haustu  610 

interiusque  rapit,  sic  felle  libidinis  ardens 
inpletur  vitiis  perituro  mixta  marito. 
tunc  praegnans  letale  genus  concepta  maligni 
fert  opera  ingenii  de  semine  conplicis  hydri ; 
quem  poenis  pensare  prius  sua  facta  necesse  est   615 
corruptae     pro     stupro     animae     proque     orbe 

perempto. 
ipsam  porro  animam  crudelia  vulnera  carpunt 
mille  puerperiis,  suboles  dum  parturit  ex  se 
contra  naturam  genitas,  peccamina  crebra 

246 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

dies.     With  these  allurements  the  sire  is  destroyed ; 
but  the  young  shut  up  within  her  kill  their  dam.     For 
when  the  seed  develops  and  the  tiny  bodies  begin  to 
creep  about  in  their  warm  hiding-place  and  to  shake 
the  womb  with  their  waving  and  lashing,  the  mother 
is    tormented    by    the    outrage    against    filial    duty 
within  her,  and,  conscious  of  her  guilty  sex,  bemoans 
the  fate  that  makes  her  progeny  her  executioners  as 
they   break   through    the   barriers    that    stop    their 
bringing  forth.     For  because  there  is  no  passage  to 
give  them  birth,  the  belly  is  tortured  and  gnawed 
by  the  young  as  they  struggle  into  the  light,  till  a 
way  is  opened  through  the  torn  sides.     At  last  the 
grievous  brood  come  forth  by  the  death  of  her  that 
has  nurtured  them,  scarce  forcing  an  entrance  into 
life  and  carving  out  their  way  to  birth  by  a  crune,       ' '     / 
and  the  young  creep  about  licking  the  corpse  that  ^^tR/P- 
bore  them,  a  family  of  orphans  at  their  very  birth,       w,,^-*^ 
that  have  only  seen  the  light  of  day  as  the  post-   ■-'     j^ 
humous  children  of  their  poor  mother.     Just  so  does     ^ 
our  soul  conceive.     In  the  same  way  it  imbibes  the 
baneful  fluid  poured  into  it  from  the  serpent's  mouth, 
mating  with  the  son  of  Belial ;    in  the  same  way  it  * 

gulps  down  the  allurements  of  his  lips,  greedily  draw- 
ing them  in ;  in  the  same  way  it  burns  with  the  gall 
of  desire  and  is  filled  ^%ith  sins  by  its  union  mth  a 
spouse  that  is  doomed  to  perish.  Then  being  preg-^^; 
nant  it  brings  forth  its  deadly  brood  in  works  of  an 
evil  nature,  conceived  from  the  seed  of  its  partner 
the  serpent,  which  must  first  pay  the  penalty  for  its 
deeds,  for  corrupting  and  debauching  the  soul  and 
ruining  the  world.  Again,  cruel  wounds  tear  the 
soul  too  in  a  thousand  labour-pains,  as  she  gives 
birth  to  her  unnatural  progeny,  to  wit  a  multitude 

247 


PRUDENTIUS 

scilicet  et  pastes  materno  funere  natos.  620 

hinc  ilia  est  Domini  iusta  obiurgatio  Christi : 
"  nonne  pater  daemon,  vos  increpo,  peccatores, 
concubitu  carnis  semen  sitientis  iniquum 
vos    genuit?"     sanctum,    lector,    percense 

volumen : 
quod  loquor,  invenies  Dominum  dixisse  profanis    625 
vera  obiectantem  mortalibus  :  "  ex  Patre  nam  vos 
esse  meo  genitos  pietas,"  ait,  "  ipsa  probaret 
ac  pietatis  opus."     pro  caeca  libido  !  quid  hoc  est, 
quod  cum  se  thalamis  desponsam  mens  bona  iustis 
noverit,  inque  torum  regis  nuptura  vocetur,  630 

et  regis  semper  iuvenis  senioque  repulso 
divinum  decus  aeterno  servantis  in  ore, 
malit  adulterium  fulvo  et  se  munere  vilem 
vendat  nocticolae  spurcis  conplexibus  Indi, 
aspernata  Dei  fusam  per  virginis  artus  635 

progeniem  dulcesque  vocans  in  fornice  natos  ? 

sentio  quam  contra  moveat  pellacia  litem, 
quo  dente  obnitens  spinosa  calumnia  pugnet 
nosque  lacessito  vocet  ad  luctamina  vero. 
"  si  non  vult  Deus  esse  malum,  cur  non  vetat?  " 

inquit.  640 

"  nil  refert  auctor  fuerit  factorque  malorum, 
anne  opera  in  vitium  sceleris  pulcherrima  verti, 
cum  possit  prohibere,  sinat ;    qui  si  velit  omnes 
innocuos  agere  omnipotens,  nee  sancta  voluntas 
degeneret,  facto  nee  se  manus  inquinet  ullo.  645 

condidit  ergo  malum  Dominus  quod  spectat  ab 

alto 
et  patitur  fierique  probat,  tamquam  ipse  crearit ; 
ipse  creavit  enim  quod,  cum  discludere  possit, 

»  Cf.  John  viii,  44.  "  Cf.  John  viii,  41-42. 

248 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

of  sins,  children  that  have  fed  on  their  mother's 
corpse.  Hence  the  just  reproach  of  the  Lord 
Christ :  "  Is  not  the  devil — I  accuse  you,  ye  sinners — 
the  father  that  begot  you,  by  union  with  the  flesh 
that  thirsted  for  the  seed  of  iniquity?  "  *  Examine 
the  holy  book,  O  reader :  you  \vi\\  find  that  the 
Lord  spoke  as  I  say,  bringing  true  charges  against 
unholy  men.  "  For  love,"  He  says,  "  and  the  work 
of  love  would  prove  you  begotten  of  my  Father."  * 
"  O  blind  lust !  What  means  it  that  the  good  soul, 
knoA^ing  herself  plighted  for  a  true  marriage,  and 
called  to  the  king's  chamber  to  be  his  bride,  bride 
of  a  king  ever  young,  who  keeps  the  divine  beauty 
for  ever  on  his  countenance  and  admits  not  the 
approach  of  age,  would  rather  choose  adultery  and 
sell  herself  cheap  for  a  gift  of  gold  to  the  foul  em- 
braces of  a  blackamoor  that  loves  the  darkness,  while 
she  rejects  the  Son  of  God  brought  forth  by  a  virgin's 
body,  and  calls  children  born  in  a  brothel  sweet  ? 

I  know  the  seductive  argument  that  is  brought 
forward  on  the  other  side,  the  sharp  tooth  with  which 
stinging  malice  presses  the  fight,  challenging  us  to 
the  contest  by  attacking  the  truth.  "  If  God  does 
not  will  the  existence  of  evil,"  it  says,  "  why  does 
He  not  forbid  it  ?  It  matters  not  whether  He  was  the 
author  and  creator  of  evil,  or  only  suffers  his  fairest 
works  to  be  misapplied  to  sin  when  He  could  prevent 
it.  If  He,  being  omnipotent,  \\'illed  that  all  men  live 
innocent  lives,  neither  would  the  pure  \\i\\  be  de- 
based nor  the  hand  pollute  itself -with  any  act.  There- 
fore the  Lord  established  the  evil  which  He  looks  on 
from  on  high  and  permits  and  sanctions,  as  much  as 
if  He  himself  created  it ;  for  He  has  himself  created 
that  which,  though  He  could  shut  it  out.  He  does  not 

249 


PRUDENTIUS 

non  abolet  longoque  sinit  grassarier  usu." 
damna  aures,  Pater  alme,  meas,  et  claude  meatus  650 
obbrutescentis  capitis,  ne  pervia  tales 
concipiat  flexura  sonos  ;   est  perdere  tanti 
extinctum  vitae  officium  de  parte  cerebri, 
inmunem  modo  sese  anima  expertemque  nefandi 
auditus  felix  stolida  conservet  ab  aure.  655 

quis  ferat  haec  iniecta  Deo  convicia,  qui  se 
divinis  meminit  praecellere  nobilitatum 
muneribus  ?     multa  ut  taceam,  vel  sola  be- 

nignum 
res    probat    esse    Deum,    vetiti    quod    amore 

peremptos 
excitat  e  tumulis  homines  regnique  per  aevum    660 
participes  iubet  esse  sui.     qui  si  foret  auctor 
servatorque  mali,  nunquam  post  damna  salutis 
peccantumque  obitus  redivivam  ferre  medellam 
vellet  et  amissos  ope  restaurare  secunda. 
labi  hominis,  servare  Dei  est :  meritis  perit  iste,    665 
ille  abolet  pereuntis  opus  meritumque  resolvit, 
argumentum  ingens  Dominum,  qui  talia  praestet, 
nolle  malum  nee,  quod  post  abluit,  ante  probare. 
"  invitone  aliquis  potis  est  peccare  Tonante, 
cui  facile  est  in  corde  hominis  conponere  sensus    670 
quos  libeat,  fibrasque  omnes  animare  pudicis 
pulsibus  et  totum  venis  infundere  honestum?  " 
nescis,  stulte,  tuae  vim  libertatis  ab  ipso 
formatore  datam  ?   nescis  ab  origine  quanta 
sit  concessa  tibi  famulo  super  orbe  potestas,        675 
et  super  ingenio  proprio  laxaeque  solute 

250 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

abolish,  but  allows  to  riot  unchecked."  Destroy  my 
ears,  bountiful  Father,  stop  up  the  passages  of  my 
head  and  let  it  lose  its  sense,  ere  their  windings  take 
up  such  sounds  and  give  them  access ;  to  annihilate 
the  function  of  Ufe  in  a  part  of  my  brain  and  lose  it 
utterly  is  not  too  high  a  price,  if  only  my  soul,  thanks 
to  a  dulled  ear,  has  the  blessedness  to  keep  itself 
immune  and  free  from  hearing  impiety.  What  man, 
remembering  that  it  is  the  divine  grace  that  has  given 
him  the  rank  in  which  he  surpasses  all  other  creatures, 
would  bear  to  have  such  insults  hurled  against  God  ?^ 
To  pass  over  many  things,  God  is  proved  good  even 
by  the  mere  fact  that  though  men  were  cut  off  by 
their  love  of  what  was  forbidden  He  raises  them  from 
the  grave  and  bids  them  be  partakers  of  his  kingdom 
for  ever.  If  He  were  the  author  and  maintainer  of 
evil.  He  would  never,  after  the  loss  of  salvation  and 
the  death  of  sinners,  have  willed  to  bring  healing 
and  restoration  and  by  his  gracious  help  to  reinstate 
the  lost.  To  fall  is  of  man,  to  save  is  of  God.  Man 
dies  according  to  his  desert ;  God  wipes  out  the  work 
of  dying  man  and  annuls  his  desert,  a  strong  proof 
that  the  Lord  who  bestows  such  blessings  does  not 
will  evil  nor  sanction  beforehand  that  which  He  after- 
wards washes  away.  "  Can  one  sin  without  the 
consent  of  the  Thunderer,  for  whom  it  were  easy  to 
dispose  whatsoever  feelings  He  pleased  in  the  heart 
of  man,  to  endow  all  his  tissues  with  pure  impulses 
and  pour  nought  but  goodness  into  his  veins?" 
Knowest  thou  not,  thou  fool,  the  strength  of  thine 
own  Uberty,  given  thee  by  the  creator  himself? 
Knowest  thou  not  the  greatness  of  the  power  that 
was  granted  to  thee  from  the  beginning  over  a  world 
at  thy  service,  and  over  thine  own  purpose  and  the 

251 


PRUDENTIUS 

iure  voluntatis,  liceat  cui  velle  sequique 

quod    placitum,    nuUique    animum    subiungere 

vinclo  ? 
an    cum    te    dominum    cunctis,    quaecumque 

crearat, 
praeficeret  mundumque  tuis  servire  iuberet  680 

imperiis,  cumque  arva,  polum,  mare,  flumina, 

ventos 
dederet,  arbitrium  de  te  tibi  credere  avarus 
nollet  ut  indigno  libertatemque  negaret? 
quale  erat  electus  magni  rex  orbis  ut  esset 
non  rex  ipse  sui,  curto  foedatus  honore?  685 

nam  quis  honos  domini  est,  cuius  mens  libera  non 

est, 
una  sed  inpositae  servit  sententia  legi  ? 
quae  laus  porro  hominis  vel  quod  meritum,  sine 

certo 
inter  utramque  viam  discrimine  vivere  iuste  ? 
non  fit  sponte  bonus,  cui  non  est  prompta  potestas  690 
velle  aliud  flexosque  animi  convertere  sensus. 
atqui  nee  bonus  est  nee  conlaudabilis  ille 
qui  non  sponte  bonus,  quoniam  probitate  coacta 
gloria  nulla  venit  sordetque  ingloria  virtus ; 
nee  tamen  est  virtus,  ni  deteriora  refutans  695 

emicet  et  meliore  viam  petat  indole  rectam. 
"  vade,"  ait  ipse  parens  opifexque  et  conditor 

Adae, 
"  vade,  homo,  adflatu  nostri  praenobilis  oris, 
insubiecte,  potens,  rerum  arbiter,  arbiter  idem 
et  iudex  mentis  propriae,  mihi  subdere  soli  700 

sponte  tua,  quo  sit  subiectio  et  ipsa  soluto 
libera  iudicio.     non  cogo  nee  exigo  per  vim, 
sed  moneo  iniustum  fugias  iustumque  sequaris. 


252 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

uncontrolled  discretion  of  a  free  will,  so  that  it  may  "| 
will  and  follow  out  its  own  determination,  subjecting  ' 
the  spirit  to  no  bondage  ?  When  God  made  thee 
lord  over  all  his  creation  and  bade  the  world  be  the 
servant  of  thy  commands,  when  He  gave  up  to  thee 
land  and  sky  and  sea  and  streams  and  winds,  would 
He  grudge  and  refuse  to  entrust  thee  with  control 
over  thyself  because  He  deemed  thee  unworthy  of  it, 
and  deny  thee  freedom  ?  WTiat  sort  of  honour  had 
it  been  to  have  been  chosen  ruler  of  the  great  world 
but  not  ruler  of  oneself,  bearing  the  slur  of  a  pri\i- 
lege  that  was  abridged  ?  For  what  is  the  honour  of 
a  lord  whose  mind  is  not  free,  but  whose  will  obeys 
a  law  imposed  on  it,  and  cannot  vary  ?  And  what 
credit  or  merit  belongs  to  man  in  hving  righteously 
if  he  has  not  to  make  a  definite  choice  between  two 
paths  ?  A  man  does  not  become  good  of  his  own  will  ~^ 
if  he  has  not  the  power  in  his  discretion  to  will  some-  I 
thing  else  and  to  divert  his  sentiments  into  an  oppo- 
site  course.  But  he  who  is  not  good  of  his  own  will 
is  not  good  nor  praiseworthy,,  since  no  honour  comes 
of  uprightness  that  is  forced,  and  virtue  without 
honour  has  no  worth ;  and  after  all  it  is  not  virtue 
unless  it  spring  forth  in  the  act  of  rejecting  the  worse 
and  seek  the  right  path  because  its  nature  is  better. 
"  Go,"  says  Adam's  very  father  and  maker  and 
creator,  "  go,  O  man,  who  art  raised  in  rank  above 
all  by  the  breath  of  my  mouth,  not  made  subject 
but  possessed  of  power,  ruler  of  the  world,  ruler  also 
and  judge  of  thine  own  purpose,  to  me  only  be  thou 
subject  of  thine  own  will,  so  that  thy  very  subjection 
may  be  freely  made  with  unfettered  judgment.  I 
force  thee  not  nor  constrain  thee,  but  I  counsel  thee 
to  shun  unrighteousness  and  follow  after  righteous- 

«53 


PRUDENTIUS 

lux  comes  est  iusti,  comes  est  mors  horrida  iniqui. 
elige  rem  vitae ;  tua  virtus  temet  in  aevum 
provehat,  aeternum  damnet  tua  culpa  vicissim, 
praestet  et  alterutram  permissa  licentia  sortem." 
hac  pietate  vagus  et  tanto  munere  abundans, 
transit  propositum  fas  et  letalia  prudens 
eligit  atque  volens,  magis  utile  dum  sibi  credit 
quod  prohibente  Deo  persuasit  callidus  anguis. 
persuasit  certe  hortatu,  non  inpulit  acri 
imperio ;   hoc  mulier  rea  criminis  exprobranti 
respondit  Domino,  suadelis  se  malefabris 
inlectam  suasisse  viro;    vir  et  ipse  libenter 
consensit.     licuitne  hortantem  spemere  recti 
libertate  animi?   licuit;   namque  et  Deus  ante 
suaserat  ut  meliora  volens  sequeretur ;   at  ille 
spernens  consilium  saevo  plus  credidit  hosti. 
nunc  inter  vitae  Dominum  mortisque  magistrum 
consistit  medius  ;  vocat  hinc  Deus,  inde  tyrannus 
ambiguum  atque  suis  se  motibus  alternantem. 
accipe  gestarum  monumenta  insignia  rerum, 
praelusit  quibus  historia  spectabile  signum. 
Loth  fugiens  Sodomis  ardentibus  omnia  secum 
pignera  cara  domus  properabat  sede  relicta 
nubibus  urbicremis  subducere,  sulpure  cum  iam 
nimboso  ignitus  coelum  subtexeret  aer 
flagrantemque  diem  crepitans  incenderet  imber. 
angelus  hanc  hospes  legem  praescripserat  ollis 
emissus  virtute  Dei  sub  imagine  dupla, 

"  C/.  Genesis  xlx,  1. 
254 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

ness.  Light  is  the  companion  of  righteousness,  death 
the  dread  companion  of  >\Tong-doing.  Choose  the  way 
of  life  ;  thy  goodness  must  promote  thee  to  eternity, 
thy  sin,  again,  for  ever  condemn  thee ;  Uberty  is  in 
thy  hands  to  assure  either  fate."  Thus  allowed  by 
God's  goodness  to  go  his  owti  way,  and  amply  en- 
riched with  this  great  gift,  he  transgresses  the  right 
that  is  set  before  him  and  knowingly,  of  his  own  will, 
chooses  the  things  of  death,  believing  that  to  be 
more  profitable  to  him  which  the  cunning  serpent  has 
persuaded  him  to  do  against  the  will  of  God.  The 
serpent  did  indeed  persuade  by  urging,  not  drive  with 
sharp  behest ;  the  woman's  answer  to  God's  reproach, 
when  she  stood  accused  of  the  sin,  was  that  she  was 
won  over  by  crafty  persuasions  and  then  urged  the 
man ;  and  the  man  also  readily  agreed.  Might  he 
not  have  rejected  her  urging,  in  the  freedom  of  an 
upright  soul?  He  might,  for  God  too  had  before 
urged  him  to  follow  after  the  better  of  his  own  •will ; 
but  he,  rejecting  the  counsel,  trusted  more  in  his 
cruel  enemy.  Now  he  stands  between  the  Lord  of 
life  and  the  teacher  of  death.  On  the  one  hand  God 
calls  him,  on  the  other  the  devil,  the  while  he  wavers 
and  goes  from  side  to  side. 

Listen  now  to  a  famous  record  of  events  whereby 
history  has  given  beforehand  a  notable  sign.  Lot  was 
seeking  in  hurried  flight  from  blazing  Sodom,  where 
he  had  abandoned  his  home,  to  save  himself  and  all 
the  dear  ones  of  his  house  from  the  storm  that  was 
consuming  the  city  \nih  fire.  Already  the  air  was 
glowing  red  and  veiling  the  sky  with  sulphurous 
clouds,  and  a  rattling  rain  was  kindling  the  day  into 
flames.  An  angel  visitor  sent  forth  by  the  power  of 
God  in  twofold  shape  "  had  laid  down  for  them  this 

255 


PRUDENTIUS 

omnis  ut  e  portis  iret  domus  atque  in  apertum 
dirigeret  constans  oculos,  nee  pone  reflexo 
lumine  regnantes  per  moenia  cerneret  ignes : 
"  nemo,   memor   Sodomae,   quae   mundi   forma 

cremandi  est,  735 

ut  semel  e  muris  gressum  promoverit,  ore 
post  tergum  verso  respectet  funera  rerum." 
Loth  monitis  sapiens  obtemperat,  at  levis  uxor 
mobilitate  animi  torsit  muliebre  retrorsus 
ingenium  Sodomisque  suis  revocabilis  haesit.        740 
traxerat  Eva  virum  dirae  ad  consortia  culpae : 
haec  peccans  sibi  sola  perit ;   solidata  metallo 
diriguit  fragili  saxumque  liquabile  facta 
stat  mulier,  sicut  steterat  prius,  omnia  servans 
caute  sigillati  longum  salis  effigiata,  745 

et  decus  et  cultum  frontemque  oculosque  co- 

mamque 
et  flexam  in  tergum  faciem  paulumque  relata 
menta  retro,  antiquae  monumenta  rigentia  noxae. 
liquitur  ilia  quidem  salsis  sudoribus  uda, 
sed  nulla  ex  fluido  plenae  dispendia  formae  750 

sentit  deliquio,  quantumque  armenta  saporum 
attenuant  saxum,  tantum  lambentibus  umor 
sufficit  attritamque  cutem  per  damna  reformat, 
hoc  meruit  titulo  peccatrix  femina  sisti, 
infirmum  fluidumque  animum  per  lubrica  solvens    755 
consilia  et  fragilis  iussa  ad  caelestia.     voti 

"  On  Jebel  Usdum  ("  the  mountain  of  Sodom  "),  a  range 
of  rock-salt  cliffs  at  the  S.W.  end  of  the  Dead  Sea,  large 
fragments  sometimes  detach  themselves  and  appear  as 
"pillars  of  salt  "  (S.  R.  Driver  in  Hastings'  Dictionary  of  the 
Bible).  Josephus  (Jewish  Antiquities,  I,  204)  says  that  the 
pillar  into  which  Lot's  wife  was  turned  still  existed  in  his 
day  and  that  he  had  seen  it.     According  to  C.  Geikie  (The 

256 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

rule,  that  all  the  household  go  forth  from  the  gates 
and  keep  their  eyes  unswervingly  on  the  open 
country,  nor  turn  their  gaze  back  to  see  the  fires  that 
were  lording  it  over  the  city:  "  Let  no  one  think 
of  Sodom,  which  is  the  prefiguration  of  the  burning 
of  the  world,  and,  when  once  he  has  stepped  from  the 
walls,  turn  his  face  back  to  look  upon  the  death  of 
all  things."  Lot,  being  wise,  obeyed  the  warning, 
but  his  light-minded  •wife  with  unsteady  purpose,  Uke 
a  woman,  turned  her  thoughts  backwards,  and  hear- 
ing the  call  of  her  dear  Sodom,  cleaved  to  it.  Eve  had 
drawn  her  husband  into  partnership  in  an  accursed 
fault,  but  this  woman  by  her  sin  brought  death  on 
herself  alone.  She  stiffened  in  a  solid  mass  of  wast- 
ing stone ;  turned  into  soluble  rock  she  stands  there 
a  woman  still,  as  she  had  stood  before,  preserving 
every  detail  modelled  in  a  pillar  of  salt  that  has  long 
borne  her  image,  her  graceful  form,  her  dress,  brow 
and  eyes  and  hair,  her  face  turned  to  look  behind, 
the  chin  carried  slightly  backwards,  a  stiff  memorial 
of  an  ancient  sin.*  Her  wet  figure  dissolves,  indeed, 
in  salt  sweats,  but  she  suffers  no  loss  to  her  full  form 
from  the  waste  that  drips  away ;  and  however  much 
the  cattle  wear  away  the  savoury  rock,  there  is 
always  as  much  moisture  for  them  to  lick,  and  she 
grows  again  the  skin  that  is  rubbed  off  and  lost. 
Such  is  the  memorial  statue  earned  by  a  woman  who 
sinned,  for  she  let  her  weak,  unstable  resolution 
melt  away  in  sHppery  courses  and  had  no  firm  con- 
stancy to  keep  heaven's  commands.     Lot  on  the 

Holy  Land  and  the  Bible)  one  pillar  still  bears  among  the 
Arabs  the  name  of  "  Lot's  Wife."  Prudentius  may  have 
derived  details  of  his  description  from  a  picture  which  he  had 
seen  in  some  church. 

257 
VOL.  I.  K 


PRUDENTIUS 

propositum  contra  non  conmutabile  servat 

Loth  ingressus  iter,  nee  moenia  respicit  alto 

in  cinerem  conlapsa  rogo,  populumque  perustum 

et  mores  populi,  tabularia,  iura  forumque,  760 

balnea,  propolas,  meritoria,  templa,  theatra, 

et  circum  cum  plebe  sua,  madidasque  popinas. 

quidquid  agunt  homines  Sodomorum  incendia  iustis 

ignibus  involvunt  et  Christo  iudice  damnant. 

haec  fugisse  semel  satis  est ;  non  respicit  ultra     765 

Loth  noster,  fragilis  sed  coniunx  respicit,  et  quae 

fugerat  inverso  mutabilis  ore  revisit, 

atque  inter  patrias  perstat  durata  favillas. 

en  tibi  signatum  libertatis  documentum, 

quo  voluit  nos  scire  Deus,  quodcumque  sequen- 

dum  est,  770 

sub  nostra  dicione  situm,  passimque  remissum 
alterutram  calcare  viam.     duo  cedere  iussi 
de  Sodomis ;   alter  se  proripit,  altera  mussat, 
ille  gradum  celerat  fugiens,  contra  ilia  renutat. 
liber  utrique  animus,  sed  dispar  utrique  voluntas.  775 
dividit  hue  illuc  rapiens  sua  quemque  libido, 
talem  multa  sacris  speciem  notat  orbita  libris. 
aspice  Ruth  gentis  Moabitidis  et  simul  Orphan, 
ilia  socrum  Noomin  ^  fido  comitatur  amore, 
deserit  haec.     atquin  thalamis  et  lege  iugali         780 
exutae  Hebraeisque  toris  sacrisque  vacantes 
iure  fruebantur  proprio.     sed  pristinus  Orphae 
fanorum  ritus  praeputia  barbara  suasit 
malle  et  semiferi  stirpem  nutrire  Goliae ; 
Ruth  dum  per  stipulas  agresti  amburitur  aestu,     785 

^  The  spelling  -oo-  is  found  as  a  variant  in  the  Septuagint. 

"  In  Jewish  legend  Orpah  appears  as  the  mother  of  Goliath 
(Ginzberg,  Legends  of  the  Jews,  IV,  31). 

258 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

other  hand  kept  his  purpose  unchanged  once  he 
started  on  his  way,  and  cast  no  thought  back  to  the 
city  which  had  fallen  in  a  heap  of  ashes  like  a  lofty 
funeral-pyre,  or  to  its  consumed  people  and  its 
people's  life,  its  archives,  courts  and  market-place, 
its  baths,  its  hucksters'  stalls,  its  brothels  and 
temples  and  theatres,  its  circus  and  the  masses  that 
thronged  it,  and  its  drunken  cookshops.  The  flames 
of  Sodom  enwrap  all  the  concerns  of  men  in  righteous 
fire  and  condemn  them  under  the  judgment  of  Christ. 
To  have  escaped  all  this  once  is  enough;  our  good 
Lot  casts  no  glance  back  again;  but  his  frail  wife 
does  glance  back ;  in  her  inconstancy  she  turns  her 
face  and  looks  again  on  what  she  had  fled  from,  and 
now  she  stands  petrified  amid  the  embers  of  her 
homeland.  In  that  figure  you  have  a  proof  of  free- 
dom, whereby  God  \\'illed  that  we  should  know  that 
the  course  we  are  to  take  lies  in  our  own  discretion 
and  we  are  everywhere  free  to  tread  either  path. 
Two  were  bidden  to  leave  Sodom ;  one  hastens  away, 
the  other  falters ;  one  quickens  his  step  in  flight, 
the  other  refuses.  Each  has  freedom  of  will,  but 
each  ■«'ills  differently.  Men  are  carried  separate  ways 
each  by  his  own  free  choice.  Many  a  line  in  the 
Scriptures  records  examples  of  this.  Consider  Ruth, 
of  the  race  of  Moab,  together  with  Orpah.  The  one 
accompanies  Naomi  her  mother-in-law  \\-ith  faithful 
affection,  the  other  leaves  her.  Now  they  were  no 
longer  bound  by  their  marriages  and  the  law  of 
wedlock,  they  were  rid  of  Hebrew  bridal  and  rite, 
and  independent ;  but  the  old  religion  of  her  temples 
urged  Orpah  to  prefer  an  uncircumcised  barbarian 
and  to  raise  a  monstrous  scion  in  Goliath,**  while 
Ruth,  burning  under  the  heat  in  the  field  as  she  went 

259 


PRUDENTIUS 

fulcra  Boos  ^  meruit,  castoque  adscita  cubili 
Christigenam  fecunda  domum,  Davitica  regna, 
edidit  atque  Deo  mortales  miscuit  ortus. 
saepe  egomet  memini  fratres  geminos  ad  hiulcum 
pervenisse  simul  bivium  nutante  iuventa  790 

et  dubitasse  diu  bifido  sub  tramite,  quodnam 
esset  iter  melius ;   cum  dextrum  spinea  silva 
sentibus  artaret  scopulosaque  semita  longe 
duceret  aerium  clivoso  margine  callem, 
at  laevum  nemus  umbriferum  per  amoena  virecta  795 
ditibus  ornaret  pomis  et  lene  iacentem 
planities  daret  ampla  viam :   squalentibus  unum 
contentum  spinis  reptasse  per  ardua  saxa, 
porro  alium  campo  sese  indulsisse  sinistro ; 
ilium  sideribus  caput  inmiscere  propinquis,  800 

hunc  in  caenosas  subito  cecidisse  paludes. 
omnibus  una  subest  natura,  sed  exitus  omnes 
non  unus  peragit  placitorum  segrege  forma, 
baud  secus  ac  si  olim  per  sudum  lactea  forte 
lapsa  columbarum  nubes  descendat  in  arvum        805 
ruris  frugiferi,  laqueos  ubi  callidus  auceps 
praetendit  lentoque  inlevit  vimina  visco, 
sparsit  et  insidias  siliquis  vel  farre  doloso, 
inliciunt  alias  fallentia  grana,  gulamque 
innectunt  avidam  tortae  retinacula  saetae,  810 

molle  vel  inplicitas  gluten  circumligat  alas, 
ast  aUae,  quas  nullus  amor  prolectat  edendi, 
gressibus  innocuis  sterili  spatiantur  in  herba 
suspectamque  cavent  oculos  convertere  ad  escam ; 
mox    ubi   iam    caelo    revolandum,    pars    petit 

aethram  815 

^  -00-  in  the  Septimgint  and  Vulgate.     Cf.  Matthew  i,  5. 

«  Rutb  iv,  17;  Matthew  i,  6-16. 
260 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

over  the  stubble,  proved  herself  worthy  of  the  hand 
of  Boaz,  and  being  taken  in  pure  wedlock  she  con- 
ceived and  gave  birth  to  the  family  of  Christ,  David's 
royal  line,  and  numbered  God  along  with  her  mortal 
descendants."  I  myself  remember  when  often  two 
brothers  together  in  youthful  indecision  have  come 
where  the  road  split  in  two  and  hesitated  long  at  the 
forks,  wondering  which  path  was  the  better ;  for  on 
the  right  a  prickly  forest  of  briers  narrowed  the 
track  and  the  rocky  footpath  traced  its  mounting 
course  far  up  along  a  precipitous  ridge,  while  on  the 
left  shady  trees  along  fair  greensward  beautified 
the  scene  with  rich  fruits  and  a  wide  plain  offered  a 
gently  descending  highway.  One  was  content  with 
the  rough  thorns  and  crept  along  the  lofty  rocks ; 
the  other,  again,  gave  his  heart  to  the  plain  on  the 
left.  The  one  set  his  head  in  close  proximity  to  the 
stars,  but  the  other  fell  suddenly  into  miry  bogs. 
There  is  in  all  the  same  nature,  but  the  same  end 
does  not  complete  the  course  of  all,  because  their 
decisions  take  different  shapes.  Just  as  at  times  it 
chances  that  a  milk-white  cloud  of  doves  floats  down 
to  the  ground  through  the  clear  air  in  a  rich  country- 
side, where  a  cunning  fowler  has  laid  snares  and 
smeared  twigs  with  clinging  bird-lime  and  sprinkled 
peas  or  treacherous  meal  to  bait  his  traps,  and  some 
are  tempted  by  the  deceptive  grains  and  their 
greedy  throats  are  caught  and  held  by  the  twisted 
hair-cord,  or  the  soft  glue  grips  their  wings  and  binds 
them  fast  about  them,  but  others,  not  enticed  by 
love  of  eating,  strut  about  unharmed  on  the  bare  grass 
and  take  care  not  to  turn  their  eyes  towards  the 
suspicious  food;  and  then,  when  it  is  time  to  fly 
back  into  the  sky,  some  make  for  the  starry  heavens 

261 


PRUDENTIUS 

libera  sideream  plaudens  super  aera  pinnis, 
pars  captiva  iacet  laceris  et  saucia  plumis 
pugnat   humi   et   volucres   nequiquam   suspicit 

auras ; 
sic  animas  caeli  de  fontibus  unicoloras 
infundit  natura  solo,  sed  suavibus  istic  820 

devinctae  inlecebris  retinentur,  et  aethera  paucae 
conscendunt  reduces,  multas  viscosus  inescat 
pastus  et  ad  superas  percurrere  non  sinit  auras, 
praescius  inde  Pater  liventia  Tartara  plumbo 
incendit  liquido  piceasque  bitumine  fossas  825 

infernalis  aquae  furvo  subfodit  Averno, 
et  Phlegethonteo  sub  gurgite  sanxit  edaces 
perpetuis  scelerum  poenis  inolescere  vermes, 
norat  enim  flatu  ex  proprio  vegetamen  inesse 
corporibus  nostris  animamque  ex  ore  perenni         830 
formatam  non  posse  mori,  non  posse  vicissim 
pollutam  vitiis  rursum  ad  convexa  reverti 
mersandam  penitus  puteo  ferventis  abyssi. 
vermibus  et  flanunis  et  discruciatibus  aevum 
inmortale  dedit,  senio  ne  poena  periret  835 

non  pereunte  anima.     carpunt  tormenta  fovent- 

que 
materiam  sine  fine  datam,  mors  deserit  ipsa 
aeternos  gemitus  et  flentes  vivere  cogit. 
at  diversa  procul  regionibus  in  paradisi 
praemia  constituit  maiestas  gnara  futuri  840 

spiritibus  puris  et  ab  omni  labe  remotis, 
quique  Gomorraeas  non  respexere  ruinas, 
aversis  sed  rite  oculis  post  terga  tenebras 
liquerunt  miseri  properanda  pericula  mundi. 
ac  primum  facili  referuntur  ad  astra  volatu,  845 


262 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

at  liberty,  clapping  their  wings  far  up  in  the  air,  while 
others  lie  prisoners,  hurt  and  struggling  on  the 
ground  with  their  feathers  torn,  and  looking  up  in 
vain  towards  the  flying  breezes :  so  nature  from 
their  source  in  heaven  pours  on  earth  souls  of  one 
complexion,  but  they  are  caught  and  held  there  by 
agreeable  temptations  and  few  ascend  again  to 
heaven,  while  many  are  entrapped  by  clinging  food 
which  does  not  let  them  fly  to  the  breezes  above. 
Therefore  the  Father,  having  foreknowledge,  lit  the 
fires  of  Tartarus  dark-hued  with  molten  lead,  and  in 
gloomy  Avemus  dug  channels  for  the  pitchy  bitu- 
minous streams  of  hell,  and  down  in  Phlegethon's  gulf 
ordained  that  gnawing  worms  indwell  for  the  ever- 
lasting punishment  of  sin.  For  He  knew  that  the 
life  in  our  bodies  came  from  his  breath,  and  that  the 
soul  that  had  its  being  from  the  everlasting  Hps  could 
not  die,  nor  again  could  it  return  once  more  to  heaven 
when  it  was  polluted  with  sin,  but  must  be  plunged 
in  the  depths  of  the  burning  pit.  To  worms  and 
flames  and  tortures  He  gave  deathless  endurance,  so 
that  the  punishment  should  not  die  away  through 
length  of  years  while  the  soul  never  died.  The 
torments  keep  alive,  while  they  consume  it,  the  stuff 
that  is  given  them  without  limit  of  time.  Death 
itself  turns  its  back  on  the  everlasting  lamentations 
and  compels  the  weeping  \-ictims  to  live.  But  far 
away  in  the  regions  of  paradise  God's  provident 
majesty  has  set  rewards  for  spirits  that  are  pure  and 
free  from  every  stain,  that  have  not  looked  back  on 
the  ruins  of  Gomorrah,  but  with  eyes  faithfully 
turned  away  have  left  behind  them  the  darkness  that 
portends  the  WTCtched  world's  peril  soon  to  come. 
And  first  they  pass  again  with  easy  flight  to  the 

263 


PRUDENTIUS 

unde  fluens  anima  structum  vegetaverat  Adam, 
nam  quia  naturam  tenuem  declivia  vitae 
pondera  non  reprimunt  nee  tardat  ferrea  conpes, 
concretum  celeri  relegens  secat  aera  lapsu 
exsuperatque  polum  fervens  seintilla  remensum,  850 
careereos  exosa  situs,  quibus  haeserat  exul. 
tunc  postliminio  redeuntem  suscipit  alto 
cana  Fides  gremio  tenerisque  oblectat  alumnam 
deliciis,  multos  post  divorsoria  carnis 
ore  renarrantem  querulo,  quos  passa,  labores.        855 
illic  purpureo  latus  exporrecta  cubili 
floribus  aeternis  spirantes  libat  odores 
ambrosiumque  bibit  roseo  de  stramine  rorem, 
ditibus  et  longo  fumantibus  intervallo 
fluminaque  et  totos  caeli  sitientibus  imbres  860 

inplorata  negat  digitum  insertare  palato, 
flammarumque  apices  umenti  extinguere  tactu. 
nee  mirere  locis  longe  distantibus  inter 
damnatas  iustasque  animas  concurrere  visus 
conspicuos  meritasque  vices  per  magna  notari      865 
intervalla,  polus  medio  quae  dividit  orbe. 
errat,  quisque  animas  nostrorum  fine  oculorum 
aestimat,  involvit  vitreo  quos  lucida  palla 
obice,  quis  speculum  concreta  coagula  texunt 
inpediuntque  vagas  obducto  umore  fenestras.       870 
numne  animarum  oculis  denso  vegetamine  guttae 
volvuntur  teretes  aut  palpebralibus  extra 
horrescunt  saetis,  ciliove  umbrante  teguntur? 
illis  viva  acies,  nee  pupula  parva,  sed  ignis 

»  C/.  Luke  xvi,  19-26.  *  I.e.  the  site  of  hell. 

264 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

heavens  from  whence  flowed  the  soul  that  quickened 
Adam  when  he  was  created ;  for  because  the  down- 
bearing  weights  of  life  do  not  check  its  subtle  nature, 
nor  iron  fetter  impede  it,  the  glowing  spark  cuts  its 
way  again  through  the  thick  air  with  rapid  course  and 
leaves  the  skies  behind  it  in  its  return,  hating  the 
place  of  its  imprisonment,  where  it  had  been  con- 
fined far  from  its  home.  Then  as  the  exiled  soul 
returns  to  be  reinstated  in  her  heavenly  country, 
hoary  Faith  receives  her  in  her  bosom  and  comforts 
her  nursUng  with  tender  fondness  while  with  plain- 
tive voice  she  tells  over  the  many  toils  she  has  en- 
dured since  she  took  up  her  lodging  in  the  flesh. 
There,  stretched  on  a  shining  couch,  she  enjovs  the 
scents  that  breathe  from  unfading  flowers  and  drinks 
the  ambrosial  dew  from  her  bed  of  roses,  and  refuses 
the  prayer  of  the  rich  men  burning  afar  off  and  thirst- 
ing for  rivers  of  water  and  all  the  rain  of  heaven, 
to  put  her  finger  in  their  mouths  and  quench  the 
tips  of  the  flames  with  its  moist  touch. «  Nor  should 
you  wonder  that,  although  the  damned  souls  and  the 
just  are  far  separated,  they  can  see  each  other  clearly 
and  observe  the  fate  that  each  has  earned,  across 
the  great  spaces  that  Ue  between  heaven  and  the 
centre  of  the  earth. ^  He  errs  who  judges  souls  bv 
the  limit  of  our  eyes,  which  are  ^Tapped  in  a  trans- 
parent tunic  that  makes  a  glassy  barrier,  and  in 
which  a  thickened  humour  forms  a  mirror  and  with 
its  coating  of  fluid  impedes  the  freedom  of  their 
outlook.  From  souls'  eyes  do  round  drops  roll  in 
gushing  showers  ?  Do  they  have  rough,  bristly  eve- 
lashes  outside  them,  or  are  they  shaded  with  a  cover- 
ing lid?  Theirs  is  a  lively  \'ision;  they  have  not  a 
small  pupil  but  a  fire  that  can  pierce  the  mists  and 

265 
k2 


PRUDENTIUS 

traiector   nebulae   vasti    et    penetrator   operti 

est.  875 

nil  ferrugineum  solidumve  tuentibus  obstat, 
nocturnae  cedunt  nebulae,  nigrantia  cedunt 
nubila,  praetenti  cedit  teres  area  mundi. 
nee  tantum  aerios  visu  transmittit  hiatus 
spiritus,  oppositos  sed  transit  lumine  montes,       880 
oceani  fines  atque  ultima  littora  Thylae 
transadigit  volucresque  oculos  in  Tartara  mittit. 
nostris  nempe  omnes  pereunt  sub  nocte  colores 
visibus  et  caeco  delentur  tempore  formae. 
numquid  et  exuti  membris  ac  viscere  perdunt       885 
agnitione  notas  rerum,  vel  gressibus  errant  ? 
una  animas  semper  facies  habet  et  color  unus 
aeris,  ut  cuique  est  meritorum  summa,  sinistri 
seu  dextri :   alternas  nee  conunutabile  tempus 
convertit  variatque  vices ;  longum  atque  perenne 

est  890 

quidquid  id  est,  unus  volvit  sua  saecula  cursus. 
expertus  dubitas  animas  percurrere  visu 
abdita  corporeis  oculis,  ciun  saepe  quietis 
rore  soporatis  cernat  mens  viva  remotos 
distantesque  locos,  aciem  per  rura,  per  astra,       895 
per  maria  intendens  ?  nee  enim  se  segregat  ipsa 
ante  obitum  vivis  ex  artubus  aut  fugit  exul 
sanguinis  et  carnis  penetralia  seque  medullis 
exuit  abductamve  abigit  de  pectore  vitam, 
viscerea  sed  sede  manens  speculatur  acutis  900 

omnia  luminibus  et,  qua  circumtuUt  acrem 
naturae  levis  intuitum  nullo  obice  rerum 
disclusa,  ante  oculos  subiectum  prospicit  orbem 


«  Cf.  Matthew  xxv,  31-il. 
266 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

penetrate  the  waste  of  darkness.  Nothing  obscure 
or  material  blocks  their  gaze ;  the  mists  of  night 
give  way  to  them,  as  do  black  clouds  and  the  whole 
round  extent  of  the  universe  that  spreads  before 
them.  And  not  only  does  the  spirit  ^\ith  its  Wsion 
cross  the  open  spaces  of  the  air ;  its  sight  passes 
through  mountains  that  stand  in  its  way,  it  pierces 
to  the  limits  of  ocean  and  the  shores  of  Thule  at  the 
end  of  the  earth,  and  sends  its  quick  glance  into  hell. 
For  our  sight,  to  be  sure,  all  colours  are  lost  in  the 
night  and  all  shapes  destroyed  in  the  hours  of  dark- 
ness. But  do  those  too,  who  have  put  off  the  body 
and  the  flesh,  lose  any  of  their  power  to  recognise 
the  features  of  things,  or  go  astray  in  their  steps  ? 
Ever  the  same  in  look,  the  same  in  hue,  is  the  atmo- 
sphere about  souls,  on  the  right  or  on  the  left "  accord- 
ing to  the  sum  of  each  one's  deserts ;  no  change  of 
time  brings  alternation  or  variance  in  their  lot ; 
whatever  it  is,  it  lasts  for  long,  it  lasts  for  ever ;  the 
same  course  runs  through  ages  all  its  own.  Do  you 
doubt  that  souls  traverse  >vith  their  \'ision  things 
hidden  from  bodily  eyes,  when  you  know  by  experi- 
ence how  many  a  time,  when  we  are  sunk  in  un- 
consciousness by  the  dew  of  sleep,  the  Uvely  mind 
sees  places  far  away  and  far  sundered,  directing  its 
eyes  over  fields  and  stars  and  seas  ?  For  it  does  not 
separate  itself  before  death  from  the  li\lng  members, 
nor  banish  itself  from  its  home  \nthin  the  flesh  and 
blood,  withdrawing  from  our  inmost  parts  and  rea\ing 
the  hfe  from  our  breast ;  but  while  remaining  in  its 
fleshly  abode  it  explores  all  things  >nth  its  keen  sight, 
and  turning  hither  and  thither  the  sharp  gaze  of  its 
subtle  nature,  not  shut  off  by  any  barrier  of  material 
things,  it  Wews  the  world  that  lies  before  its  eyes,  and 

267 


PRUDENTIUS 

atque  orbis  sub  mole  situm  sordens  elementum. 
obiacet  interea  tellus  nee  visibus  obstat.  905 

quin  si  stelligerum  vultus  convertat  ad  axem, 
nil  intercurrens  obtutibus  inpedit  ignem 
pervigilis  animae,  quamvis  denseta  graventur 
nubila  et  opposite  nigrescat  vellere  caelum, 
sic  arcana  videt  tacitis  cooperta  futuris  910 

corporeus  lohannis  adhuc  nee  came  solutus, 
munere  sed  somni  paulisper  earne  sequestra 
liber  ad  intuitum  sensuque  oculisque  peragrans 
ordine  dispositos  Venturis  solibus  annos. 
procinctum  videt  angelicum  iam  iamque  crem- 

andi  915 

orbis  in  excidium,  tristes  ^  et  percipit  aure 
mugitus  gravium  mundi  sub  fine  tubarum. 
haec    ille    ante    obitum    membrorum    carcere 

saeptus, 
secedente  anima,  non  discedente  videbat. 
nonne  magis  flatus  sine  corpore  cuncta  notabit      920 
corporis  involucris  tumulo  frigente  repostis  ? 
certa  fides  rapidos  subterna  nocte  caminos, 
qui  pollutam  animam  per  saecula  longa  perenni 
igne  coquunt,  oculis  longum  per  inane  remoti 
pauperis  expositos ;   nee  setius  aurea  dona  925 

iustorum  dirimente  chao  rutilasque  coronas 
eminus  ostendi  poenarum  carcere  mersis. 
hinc  paradisicolae  post  ulcera  dira  beato 
proditur  infelix  ululans  in  peste  reatus 
spiritus  inque  vicem  meritorum  mutua  cernunt.    930 

^  So  both  the  oldest  M8S.    Others  have  raucos. 


»  Cf.  Luke  xvi,  19-26. 
268 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

even  the  dirty  earth  down  in  the  world's  great  mass. 
And  all  the  while  the  earth  stands  in  its  way,  yet 
does  not  impede  its  \'ision.  Indeed  should  it  turn 
its  face  towards  the  starry  heavens,  nothing  coming 
in  the  way  of  its  eyes  checks  the  flame  of  the  sleepless 
soul,  even  though  thick-gathered  clouds  lower  and 
the  sky  wear  a  blanket  of  darkness  before  it.  It  is 
thus  that  John  sees  mysteries  hidden  in  the  silence 
of  the  future  while  he  is  yet  in  the  body  and  not 
dehvered  from  the  flesh  but,  by  the  grace  of  sleep 
through  the  medium  of  the  flesh,  free  for  a  while  to 
observe,  and  viiih  discerning  eyes  travels  through 
time  in  the  settled  order  of  years  to  come.  He  sees 
the  angels  arrayed  in  readiness  for  the  destruction 
of  a  world  doomed  presently  to  be  consumed  with 
fire,  and  hears  the  dread  bray  of  the  stem  trumpets  at 
the  last  day.  These  things  he  saw  before  his  death, 
when  still  shut  up  in  the  prison-house  of  the  body, 
while  his  soul  separated  itself  but  did  not  depart. 
Shall  not  the  spirit  all  the  more  without  the  body 
observe  all  things,  when  its  bodily  wrappings  are 
laid  in  the  cold  grave  ?  It  is  a  sure  belief  that  the 
consuming  furnaces  in  the  nether  darkness,  that 
torment  the  defiled  soul  through  long  ages  \nth 
unending  fire,  are  before  the  poor  man's  eyes  though 
he  is  far  off  over  the  length  of  space,  and  in  the  same 
way  the  flashing  crowns  that  are  the  golden  prizes 
of  the  righteous,  though  the  gulf  separate  them,  are 
displayed  from  afar  to  the  souls  that  are  plunged  in 
the  prison-house  of  punishment.  So  it  is  that  to  the 
dweller  in  paradise,  blessed  now,  his  fearful  sores  all 
ended,  is  revesrted  the  unhappy  spirit  wailing  under 
the  bane  of  guilt,  and  they  each  see  the  reward  of 
the  other's  deserts,<» 

269 


PRUDENTIUS 

o   Dee   cunctiparens,   animae   dator,   o   Dee 
Christe, 
cuius  ab  ore  Deus  subsistit  Spiritus  unus, 
te  moderante  regor,  te  vitam  principe  duco, 
iudice  te  pallens  trepido,  te  iudice  eodem 
spem  capio  fore  quidquid  ago  veniabile  apud  te,    935 
quamlibet  indignum  venia  faciamque  loquarque. 
confiteor ;  dimitte  libens  et  parce  fatenti. 
omne  malum  merui,  sed  tu  bonus  arbiter  aufer 
quod  merui ;   meliora  favens  largire  precanti 
dona  animae    quandoque  meae,    cum    corporis 

huius  940 

liquerit  hospitium  nervis,  cute,  sanguine,  felle, 
ossibus  exstructum,  corrupta  quod  incola  luxu 
heu  nimium  conplexa  fovet,  cum  flebilis  hora 
clauserit  hos  orbes,  et  conclamata  iacebit 
materies  oculisque  suis  mens  nuda  fruetur,  945 

ne  cernat  truculentum  aliquem  de  gente  latronum 
inmitem,  rabidum,  vultuque  et  voce  minaci 
terribilem,  qui  me  maculosum  aspergine  morum 
in  praeceps,  ut  praedo,  trahat  nigrisque  ruentem 
inmergat  specubud,  cuncta  exacturus  ad  usque     950 
quadrantem  minimum  damnosae  debita  vitae. 
multa  in  thensauris  Patris  est  habitatio,  Christe, 
disparibus  discreta  locis.     non  posco  beata 
in  regione  domum;   sint  illic  casta  \'irorimi 
agmina,  pulvereum  quae  dedignantia  censum       955 
divitias  petiere  tuas,  sit  flore  perenni 
Candida  virginitas  animum  castrata  rfecisum. 
at  mihi  Tartarei  satis  est  si  nulla  ministri 
occurrat  facies,  avidae  nee  flamma  gehennae 
270 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

O  God,  the  Father  of  all  and  giver  of  the  soul,  O 
God  Christ,  from  whose  mouth  proceeds  the  Spirit, 
God  in  unity,  by  thy  governance  I  am  directed,  under 
thy  leadership  do  I  live  my  life,  under  thy  judgment 
I  pale  and  tremble,  under  thy  judgment  too  I 
take  hope  that  what  I  do  will  find  pardon  \\-ith 
Thee,  however  unworthy  of  pardon  be  my  act  or 
speech.  I  confess  my  sin ;  be  Thou  ready  to  forgive 
me  and  spare  the  confessor.  I  have  deserv'ed  all  ill, 
but  do  Thou,  who  art  a  kindly  judge,  take  away  my 
desert  and  in  gracious  answer  to  my  soul's  prayer 
bestow  better  gifts  one  day  upon  it,  when  it  shall 
have  left  behind  this  bodily  lodging  built  up  of 
sinews,  skin,  blood,  gall,  bones,  to  which  its  indweller, 
corrupted  with  indulgence,  clings,  alas  I  too  fondly, 
and  when  the  doleful  hour  shall  have  closed  these 
eyes  and  the  material  body  shall  lie  dead  and  the 
bared  soul  have  the  use  of  its  natural  vision,  that  what 
it  sees  be  not  one  of  the  race  of  robbers,  fierce,  ruth- 
less, raging,  >\"ith  frightful,  threatening  look  and 
voice,  that  shall  drag  me  down  headlong,  as  a  brigand 
his  captive,  spotted  as  I  am  with  the  stains  of  my 
conduct,  and  send  me  plunging  into  black  caverns, 
there  to  exact  from  me  to  the  last  farthing  all  that 
is  due  for  my  wasteful  life.  Many  dwellings  are 
there  in  the  Father's  treasure-city,  O  Christ,  and  set 
apart  on  sites  that  differ.  I  do  not  ask  for  a  home 
in  the  region  of  the  blessed.  There  let  the  com- 
panies of  pure  men  dwell  who  have  disdained  earthy 
possessions  and  sought  after  thy  riches,  and  the 
unspotted  virgins  whose  flower  has  never  faded  and 
who  have  cut  off  the  appetites  of  the  heart.  Enough 
for  me  if  the  features  of  no  minister  of  hell  meet  me, 
and  this  soul  of  mine  be  not  plunged  in  the  depths  of 

271 


PRUDENTIUS 

devoret  hanc  animam  mersam  fornacibus  imis.      960 

esto,  cavernoso,  quia  sic  pro  labe  necesse  est 

corporea,  tristis  me  sorbeat  ignis  Averno : 

saltern  mitificos  incendia  lenta  vapores 

exhalent  aestuque  calor  languente  tepescat ; 

lux  inmensa  alios  et  tempora  vincta  coronis  965 

glorificent:    me  poena  levis  clementer  adurat. 


272 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SIN 

the  furnaces  and  devoured  by  the  flames  of  greedy 
Gehenna.  And  let  it  be  that  the  grim  fire  swallow 
me  in  the  chasm  of  Avemus  because  for  my  bodily 
stain  it  must  needs  be  so  ;  yet  at  least  may  the  flames 
be  gentle  and  the  heat  of  their  breath  be  mild,  may 
their  fury  die  down  and  their  burning  moderate. 
Let  others  enjoy  the  glory  of  infinite  light  and  crown- 
encircled  brows :  as  for  me,  may  my  punishment  be 
light,  my  torment  merciful. 


273 


PSYCHOMACHIA 

PRAEFATIO 

Senex  fidelis  prima  credendi  via 

Abram,  beati  seminis  serus  pater, 

adiecta  cuius  nomen  auxit  syllaba, 

Abram  parenti  dictus,  Abraham  Deo, 

senile  pignus  qui  dicavit  victimae,  5 

docens  ad  aram  cum  litare  quis  velit, 

quod  dulce  cordi,  quod  pium,  quod  unicum 

Deo  libenter  ofFerendum  credito, 

pugnare  nosmet  cum  profanis  gentibus 

suasit,  suumque  suasor  exemplum  dedit,  10 

nee  ante  prolem  coniugalem  gignere 

Deo  placentem,  matre  Virtute  editam, 

quam  strage  multa  bellicosus  spiritus 

portenta  cordis  servientis  vicerit. 

victum  feroces  forte  reges  ceperant  15 

Loth  inmorantem  criminosis  urbibus 

Sodomae  et  Gomorrae,  quas  fovebat  advena 

pollens  honore  patruelis  gloriae. 

Abram  sinistris  excitatjis  nuntiis 

audit  propinquum  sorte  captum  bellica  20 

servire  duris  barbarorum  vincuUs  : 

armat  trecentos  terque  senos  vernulas, 

pergant  ut  hostis  terga  euntis  caedere, 


"  Genesis  xvii,  5. 
*"  Genesis  xiv. 


274 


THE    FIGHT    FOR   MANSOUL 

..>J«i>^^  PREFACE 

The  faithful  patriarch  who  first  showed  the  way  of 
beUe\ing,  Abram,  late  in  life  the  father  of  a  blessed 
progeny,  whose  name  was  lengthened  by  a  syllable 
(for  he  was  called  Abram  by  his  father,  but  Abraham  " 
by  God),  he  who  offered  in  sacrifice  the  child  of  his 
old  age,  teaching  us  thereby  that  when  a  man  would 
make  an  accept£.ble  offering  at  the  altar  he  must 
•willingly  and  with  faith  in  God  offer  to  Him  that  which 
is  dear  to  his  heart  and  the  object  of  his  love,  that 
of  which  he  has  but  one,  has  counselled  us  to  war 
against  the  ungodly  tribes,  himself  giving  lis  an 
example  of  his  own  counsel,  and  shown  that  we  beget 
no  child  of  wedlock  pleasing  to  God,  and  whose 
mother  is  Virtue,  till  the  spirit,  battling  valorously, 
has  overcome  ^\'ith  great  slaughter  the  monsters  in 
the  enslaved  heart.  It  chanced  that  insolent  kings 
overcame  Lot  and  took  him  captive  *  when  he  was 
dwelling  in  the  wicked  cities  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah, 
to  which  he  clung  and  where,  though  but  an  immi- 
grant, he  was  a  great  man  because  of  the  honour 
paid  to  his  uncle's  fame.  Called  by  a  bearer  of  the 
evil  tidings,  Abram  learns  that  his  kinsman,  by  the 
fortune  of  war,  has  been  taken  and  put  into  sub- 
jection to  hard  bondage  under  the  barbarians.  He 
arms  three  hundred  and  eighteen  servants  born  in 
his  house,  to  pursue  the  enemy  and  slay  them  on  their 

275 


PRUDENTIUS 

■:^.^i±A^.        dives  ac  triumphus  nv.. 

captis  tenebaiit  inpeditum  copiis.  25 

quin  ipse  ferrum  stringit  et  planus  Deo 

reges  superbos  mole  praedarum  graves 

pellit  fugatos,  sauciatos  proterit, 

frangit  catenas  et  rapinam  liberat : 

aurum,  puellas,  parvulos,  monilia,  30 

greges  ^  equarum,  vasa,  vestem,  buculas. 

Loth  ipse  ruptis  expeditus  nexibus 

attrita  bacis  colla  liber  erigit. 

Abram  triumphi  dissipator  hostici 

redit  recepta  prole  fratris  inclytus  35 

ne  quam  fidelis  sanguinis  prosapiam 

vis  pessimorum  possideret  principum. 

adhuc  recentem  caede  de  tanta  virum 

donat  sacerdos  ferculis  caelestibus, 

Dei  sacerdos,  rex  et  idem  praepotens,  40 

origo  cuius  fonte  inenarrabili 

secreta  nullum  prodit  auctorem  sui,^ 

Melchisedech,  qua  stirpe,  quis  maioribus 

ignotus,  uni  cognitus  tantum  Deo. 

mox  et  triformis  angelorum  trinitas  45 

senis  revisit  hospitis  mapalia, 

et  iam  vietam  Sarra  in  alvum  fertilis 

munus  iuventae  mater  exsanguis  stupet, 

herede  gaudens,  et  cachinni  paenitens. 

haec  ad  figuram  praenotata  est  line  a,  50 

quam  nostra  recto  vita  resculpat  pede : 

vigilandum  in  armis  pectorum  fidelium, 

^  Bergman,  following  the  6th-century  MS.,  prints  oves, 
equarum  vasa,  interpreting  vasa  as  ==  ornamenta.  Bardy  con- 
jectures aquarum  vasa. 

*  Lines  41  and  42  are  not  found  in  A  (6th  century),  though 
they  are   in  B  {1th  century),  and  Bergman  brackets  them  as 

276 


THE  FIGHT  FOR  MANSOUL 

march,  encumbered  as  they  are  and  slowed  down  by 

the  rich  treasure  of  the  great  spoils  their  glorious 

victory  has  won.     He  himself,  too,  draws  the  sword 

and,  being  filled  with  the  spirit  of  God,  drives  off  in 

flight  those  proud  kings,  weighed  down  \\-ith  their 

booty,  or  cuts  them  down  and  tramples  them  under 

foot.     He  breaks  the  bonds  and  looses  the  plunder — 

gold,  maidens,  little  children,  strings  of  jewels,  herds    ,      i.-^ 

of  mares,  vessels,  raiment,  cattle.     Lot  himself,  set^'^'AC*^^ 

at  hberty  by  the  bursting  of  his  chains,  straightens 

his  neck  in  freedom,  where  the  hnks  had  chafed. 

Abram,    having    scattered    his    enemies'    triumph, 

returns  in  the  glory  of  recovering  his  brother's  son 

so  that  ■\\dcked  kings  should  not  keep  a  descendant 

of  the  faithful  stock  under  their  violent  power.     To 

the  warrior  fresh  from  this  great  slaughter  the  priest 

presents  heavenly  food,  the  priest  of  God,  himself 

also  a  mighty  king,  whose  mysterious  birth  from  a 

source   that   cannot   be   named   has   no    ostensible 

author — Melchisedec,  whose  Une  and  forefathers  no 

man  knows,  for  they  are  known  to  God  alone."     Then 

also  a  triad  of  angels  in  the  form  of  three  persons 

\isits  the  old  man's  cabin,  and  he  entertains  them ; 

and  Sara,  conceiving,  is  amazed  to  find  the  function     . 

of  youtFTcome  to  her  aged  womb,  becoming  a  mother  S     ^ 

when  she  has  passed  her  time,  and  she  rejoices  in  an 

heir,  and  repents  of  her  laughter.*   (Zi^^^  picture  has  i^ 

been  drawn  beforehand  to  be  a  mod^r  for  our  hfe  I' 

to  trace  out  again  with  true  measure,  showing  that/tf 

we  must  watch  in  the  armour  of  faithful  hearts,  and 

•  Gfenesis  xiv,  18;  Hebrews  vii,  1-3. 

*  Genesis  xviii,  1-15. 

interpolated.    They  correspond  to  line  60  in  the  parallel  between 
Melchisedec  and  Christ. 

277 


PRUDENTIUS 

omnemque  nostri  portionem  corporis, 

quae  capta  foedae  serviat  libidini, 

domi  coactis  liberandam  viribus  ;  55 

nos  esse  large  vemularum  divites, 

si  quid  trecenti  bis  novenis  additis 

possint  figura  noverimus  mystica. 

mox  ipse  Christus,  qui  sacerdos  verus  est, 

parente  inenarrabili  atque  uno  satus,i  60 

cibum  beatis  ofFerens  victoribus 

parvam  pudici  cordis  intrabit  casam, 

monstrans  honorem  Trinitatis  hospitae. 

animam  deinde  Spiritus  conplexibus 

pie  maritam,  prolis  expertem  diu,  65 

faciet  perenni  fertilem  de  semine, 

tunc  sera  dotem  possidens  puerpera 

herede  digno  Patris  inplebit  domum. 


Christe,  graves  hominum  semper  miserate  labores, 
qui  patria  virtute  cluis  propriaque,  Sed  una, 
(unum  namque  Deurri  colimus  de  nomine  utroque, 
non  tamen  et  solum,  quia  tu   Deus  ex  Patre, 

Christe,) 
dissere,  rex  noster,  quo  milite  pellere  culpas  5 

mens  armata  queat  nostri  de  pectoris  antro, 
exoritur  quotiens  turbatis  sensibus  intus 
seditio  atque  animam  morborum  rixa  fatigat, 
quod  tunc  praesidium  pro  libertate  tuenda 
quaeve  acies  furiis  inter  praecordia  mixtis  10 

obsistat  meHore  manu.     nee  enim,  bonft  ductor, 

^  A  and  B  have   parente  natus  alto  et   inefifabili,  which 
is  metrically  faulty.     The  line  in  the  text  too  is  abnormal. 

278 


THE   FIGHT  FOR   MANSOUL 

that  every  part  of  our  body  which  is  in  caplmty  and 
enslaved  to  foul  desire  must  be  set  free  by  gathering 
our  forces  at  home ;  that  we  are  abundantly  rich  in 
servants  born  in  the  house  if  we  know  through  the 
mystic  symbol  what  is  the  power  of  three  hundred 
Avith  eighteen  more."  Then  Christ  himself,  who  is 
the  true  priest,*  born  of  a  Father  unutterable  and 
one,  bringing  food  for  the  blessed  Wctors,  will  enter 
the  humble  abode  of  the  pure  heart  and  give  it 
the  privilege  of  entertaining  the  Trinity ;  and  then 
the  Spirit,  embracing  in  holy  marriage  the  soul  that 
has  long  been  childless,  ■will  make  her  fertile  by  the 
seed  eternal,  and  the  dowered  bride  will  become  a 
mother  late  in  life  and  give  the  Father's  household 
a  worthy  heir. 


Christ,  who  hast  ever  had  compassion  on  the  heavy 
distresses  of  men,  who  art  glorious  in  renown  for  thy 
Father's  power  and  thine  own — but  one  power,  for 
it  is  one  God  that  we  worship  under  the  two  names ; 
yet  not  merely  one,  since  Thou,  O  Christ,  art  God 
born  of  the  Father — say,  our  King,  with  what  fighting 
force  the  soul  is  furnished  and  enabled  to  expel  the    , 
sins  from  ^vithin  our  breast;   when  there  is  c^sorder     ^  >^U^ 
among  our  thoughts  and  rebellion  arises  ^vithin  us,  y  -  jV\  C 
when  the  strife  of  our  evil  passions  vexes  the  spirit,  '  ^  ^^"^ 
say  what  help  there  is  then  to  guard  her  liberty, 
what  array  with  superior  force  >\ithstands  the  fiend- 
ish raging  in  our  heart.     For,  O  kind  leader,  Thou 

"  The  Greek  letters  TIH  represent  318;  but  they  are  also 
a  symbol  of  Christ  crucified,  T  representing  the  cross,  while 
IH  are  the  first  two  letters  of  the  name  Jesus  ('IHS0T2). 

»  Cf.  Psahn  110,  4. 

279 


PRUDENTIUS 

magnarum  Virtutum  inopes  nervisque  carentes 
Christicolas  Vitiis  populantibus  exposuisti. 
ipse  salutiferas  obsesso  in  corpore  turmas 
depugnare  iubes,  ipse  excellentibus  armas  -^'^       15 
artibus  ingenium,  quibus  ad  ludibria  cordis 
oppugnanda  potens  tibi  dimicet  et  tibi  vincat. 
vincendi  praesens  ratio  est,  si  comminus  ipsas 
Virtutum  facies  et  conluctantia  contra 
viribus  infestis  liceat  portenta  notare.  20 

prima  petit  campum  dubia  sub  sorte  duelli 
pugnatura  Fides,  agresti  turbida  cultu, 
nuda  umeros,  intonsa  comas,  exerta  lacertos; 
namque  repentinus  laudis  calor  ad  nova  fervens 
proelia  nee  telis  meminit  nee  tegmine  cingi,  25 

pectore  sed  Mens  valido  membrisque  retectis 
provocat  insani  frangenda  pericula  belli, 
ecce  lacessentem  conlatis  viribus  audet 
prima  ferire  Fidem  Veterum  Cultura  Deorum. 
ilia  hostile  caput  phalerataque  tempora  vittis  30 

altior  insurgens  labefactat,  et  ora  cruore 
de  pecudum  satiata  solo  adplicat  et  pede  calcat 
elisos  in  morte  oculos,  animamque  malignam 
fracta  intercepti  commercia  gutturis  artant, 
difficilemque  obitum  suspiria  longa  fatigant.  35 

exultat  victrix  legio,  quam  mille  coactam 
martyribus  regina  Fides  animarat  in  hostem. 
nunc  fortes  socios  parta  pro  laude  coronat 
floribus  ardentique  iubet  vestirier  ostro. 
28o 


THE   FIGHT  FOR   MANSOUL 

hast  not  exposed  the  followers  of  Christ  to  the 
ravages  of  the  Sins  without  the  help  of  great  Virtues 
or  devoid  of  strength.  Thou  thyself  dost  cofismarid"' 
relieving  squadrons  ttJ"  fight  the  battle  in  the  body 
close  beset,  Thou  thyself  dost  arm  the  spirit  with 
pre-eminent  kinds  of  skill  whereby  it  can  be  strong 
to  attack  the  wantonness  in  the  heart  and  fight  for 
Thee,  conquer  for  Thee.  The  way  of  victory  is 
before  our  eyes  if  we  m^j^fcrnark  at  close  quarters  the 
very  features  of  the  (Virtues^  and  the  monsters  that 
close  ^nth  them  in  deadly  struggle. 

Faith  first  takes  the  field  to  face  the  doubtful 
chances  of  battle,  her  rough  dress  disordered,  her 
shoulders  bare,  her  hair  untrimmed,  her  arms  ex- 
posed ;  for  the  sudden  glow  of  ambition,  burning 
to  enter  fresh  contests,  takes  no  thought  to  gird  on 
arms  or  armour,  but  trusting  in  a  stout  heart  and  un- 
protected limbs  challenges  the  hazards  of  furious 
warfare,  meaning  to  break  them  down.  Lo,  first 
WIorship-of-the-Old-Gods  ventures  to  match  her 
strength  against  Faith'sthallenge  and  strike  at  her. 
But  she,  rising  higher,  smites  her  foe's  head  do^^Ti, 
with  its  fillet-decked  brows,  lays  in  the  dust  that 
mouth  that  was  sated  with  the  blood  of  beasts,  and 
tramples  the  eyes  under  foot,  squeezing  them  out  in 
death.  The  throat  is  choked  and  the  scant  breath 
confined  by  the  stopping  of  its  passage,  and  long 
gasps  make  a  hard  and  agonising  death.  Leaps  for 
joy  the  conquering  host  which  Faith,  their  queen, 
had  assembled  from  a  thousand  martyrs  and  em- 
boldened to  face  the  foe ;  and  now  she  c^o^^'ns  her 
brave  comrades  with  flowers  proportioned  to  the 
glory  they  have  won,  and  bids  them  clothe  themselves 
in  flaming  purple. 

281 


PRUDENTIUS 

exim  gramineo  in  campo  concurrere  prompta     40 
virgo  Pudicitia  speciosis  fulget  in  armis, 
quam  patrias  succincta  faces  Sodomita  Libido 
adgreditur  piceamque  ardenti  sulpure  pinum 
ingerit  in  faciem  pudibundaque  lumina  flammis 
adpetit,  et  taetro  temptat  subfundere  fumo.  45 

sed  dextram  furiae  flagrantis  et  ignea  dirae 
tela  lupae  saxo  ferit  inperterrita  virgo, 
r  .   excussasque  sacro  taedas  depellit  ab  ore. 
^ir^=^T ^,  tunc  exarmatae  iugulum  meretricis  adacto 
p>t.i«*-        transfigit  gladio ;   calidos  vomit  ilia  vapores  :  50 

sanguine  concretes  caenoso ;   spiritus  inde 
sordidus  exhalans  vicinas  polluit  auras. 
•'  hoc  habet,"  exclamat  victrix  regina,  "  supremus 
hie  tibi  finis  erit,  semper  prostrata  iacebis, 
nee  iam  mortiferas  audebis  spargere  flammas         55 
in  famulos  famulasve  Dei,  quibus  intima  casti 
vena  animi  sola  fervet  de  lampade  Christi. 
tene,  o  vexatrix  hominum,  potuisse  resumptis 
viribus  extincti  capitis  recalescere  flatu, 
Assyrium  postquam  thalamum  cervix  Olofernis       60 
caesa  cupidineo  madefactum  sanguine  lavit, 
gemmantemque     torum     moechi    ducis     aspera 

ludith 
sprevit  et  incestos  conpescuit  ense  furores, 
famosum  mulier  referens  ex  hoste  tropaeum 
non    trepidante     manu    vindex     mea    caelitus 

audax !  65 

at  fortasse  parum  fortis  matrona  sub  umbra 
legis  adhuc  pugnans,  dum  tempora  nostra  figurat, 
vera  quibus  virtus  terrena  in  corpora  fluxit 
grande  per  infirmos  caput  excisura  ministros. 
numquid  et  intactae  post  partum  virginis  ullum     70 

383 


THE   FIGHT  FOR  MANSOUL 

Next  to  step  forth  ready  to  engage  on  the  grassy 
field  is  the  maiden  Chastity,  shining  in  beauteous 
armour.  On  her  falls  Lust  the  Sodomite,  girt  with 
the  fire-brands  of  her  countrj',  and  thrusts  into  her 
face  a  torch  of  pinewood  blazing  murkily  with  pitch 
and  burning  sulphur,  attacking  her  modest  eyes  with 
the  flames  and  seeking  to  cover  them  with  the  foul 
smoke.  But  the  maiden  undismayed  smites  with  a 
stone  the  inflamed  fiend's  hand  and  the  cursed 
whore's  burning  weapon,  striking  the  brand  away 
from  her  holy  face.  Then  with  a  sword-thrust  she 
pierces  the  disarmed  harlot's  throat,  and  she  spews 
out  hot  fumes  with  clots  of  foul  blood,  and  the 
unclean  breath  defiles  the  air  near  by.  "A  hit!  " 
cries  the  triumphant  princess.  "  This  shall  be  thy 
last  end ;  for  ever  shalt  thou  lie  prostrate  ;  no  longer 
shalt  thou  dare  to  cast  thy  deadly  flames  against 
God's  man-servants  or  his  maid-servants  ;  the  inmost 
fibre  of  their  pure  heart  is  kindled  only  from  the 
torch  of  Christ.  Shalt  thou,  O  troubler  of  mankind, 
have  been  able  to  resume  thy  strength  and  grow 
warm  again  with  the  breath  of  life  that  was  extin- 
guished in  thee,  after  the  severed  head  of  Holofernes 
soaked  his  Assyrian  chamber  with  his  lustful  blood, 
and  the  unbending  Judith,  spuming  the  lecherous 
captain's  jewelled  couch,  checked  his  unclean  passion 
with  the  sword,  and  woman  as  she  was,  won  a 
famous  victory  over  the  foe  with  no  trembling  hand, 
maintaining  my  cause  with  boldness  heaven- 
inspired  ?  <*  But  perhaps  a  woman  still  fighting  under 
the  shade  of  the  law  had  not  force  enough,  though 
in  so  doing  she  prefigured  our  times,  in  which  the 
real  power  has  passed  into  earthly  bodies  to  sever  the 

"  Judith  xiii. 

283 


PRUDENTIUS 

fas  tibi  iam  superest?  post  partum  virginis,  ex 

quo 
corporis  humani  naturam  pristina  origo 
deseruit  carnemque  novam  vis  ardua  sevit, 
atque  innupta  Deum  concepit  femina  Christum, 
mortali  de  matre  hominem,  sed  cum  Patre  numen. 
inde  omnis  iam  diva  caro  est  quae  concipit  ilium 
naturamque  Dei  consortis  foedere  sumit. 
Verbum  quippe  caro  factum  non  destitit  esse 
quod  fuerat,  Verbum,  dum  carnis  glutinat  usum, 
maiestate  quidem  non  degenerante  per  usum 
carnis,  sed  miseros.  ad  nobiliora  trahente. 
ille  manet  quod  serhper  erat,  quod  non  erat  esse 
incipiens :   nos  quod  fuimus  iam  non  sumus,  aucti 
nascendo  in  melius  :  mihi  contulit  et  sibi  mansit. 
nee  Deus  ex  nostris  minuit  sua,  sed  sua  nostris 
dum  tribuit  nosmet  dona  ad  caelestia  vexit. 
dona  haec  sunt,  quod  victa  iaces,  lutulenta  Libido, 
nee  mea  post  Mariam  potis  es  perfringere  iura. 
tu  princeps  ad  mortis  iter,  tu  ianua  leti, 
corpora  conmaculans  animas  in  Tartara  mergis. 
abde  caput  tristi,  iam  frigida  pestis,  abysso ; 
occide,     prostibulum ;      manes     pete,     claudere 

Averno, 
inque  tenebrosum  noctis  detrudere  fundum. 
te  volvant  subter  vada  flammea,  te  vada  nigra 
sulpureusque  rotet  per  stagna  sonantia  vertex, 
nee  iam  Christicolas,  furiarum  maxima,  temptes, 
284 


THE  FIGHT  FOR   MANSOUL 

great  head  by  the  hands  of  feeble  agents  ?  Well, 
since  a  virgin  immaculate  has  borne  a  child,  hast  thou 
any  claim  remaining — since  a  virgin  bore  a  child, 
since  the  day  when  man's  body  lost  its  primeval 
nature,  and  power  from  on  high  created  a  new  flesh, 
and  a  woman  unwedded  conceived  the  God  Christ, 
who  is  man  in  virtue  of  his  mortal  mother  but  God 
along  with  the  Father?  From  that  day  all  flesh  is 
divine,  since  it  conceives  Him  and  takes  on  the  nature 
of  God  by  a  covenant  of  partnership.  For  the  Word 
made  flesh  has  not  ceased  to  be  what  it  was  before, 
that  is,  the  Word,  by  attaching  to  itself  the  experi- 
ence of  the  flesh ;  its  majesty  is  not  lowered  by  the 
experience  of  the  flesh,  but_  raises  ^Tctched  men  to 
nobler  things.  He  .emains  what  He  ever  was,  though 
beginning  to  be  what  He  was  not ;  but  we  are  no 
longer  what  we  were,  now  that  we  are  raised  at  our 
birth  into  a  better  condition.  He  has  given  to  me, 
yet  still  remained  for  Himself;  neither  has  God 
lessened  what  is  his  by  taking  on  what  is  ours,  but 
by  giving  his  nature  to  ours  He  has  Ufted  us  to  the 
height  of  his  heavenly  gifts.  It  is  his  gift  that  thou 
hest  conquered,  filthy  Lust,  and  canst  not,  since 
Mary,  \iolate  my  authority.  It  is  thou  that  leadest 
to  the  way  of  death,  that  art  the  gate  of  destruction, 
that  dost  stain  our  bodies  and  plunge  our  souls  in 
hell.  Bury  thy  head  in  the  grim  pit,  thou  bane  now 
powerless.  Death  to  thee,  harlot,  down  with  thee 
to  the  dead ;  be  thou  shut  up  in  hell  and  thrust  into 
the  dark  depths  of  night !  May  the  rivers  below  roll 
thee  on  their  waves  of  fire,  the  black  rivers  and  the 
eddying  sulphur  whirl  thee  along  their  roaring 
streams.  No  more,  thou  chief  of  fiends,  tempt  thou 
the  worshippers  of  Christ ;   let  their  cleansed  bodies 

285 


PRUDENTIUS 

ut  purgata  suo  serventur  corpora  regi." 

dixerat  haec  et  laeta  Libidinis  interfectae 

morte  Pudicitia  gladium  lordanis  in  undis 

abluit  infectum,  sanies  cui  rore  rubenti  100 

haeserat  et  nitidum  macularat  vulnere  ferrum. 

expiat  ergo  aciem  fluviali  docta  lavacro 

victricem  victrix,  abolens  baptismate  labem 

hostilis  iuguli ;   nee  iam  contenta  piatum 

condere  vaginae  gladium,  ne  tecta  rubigo  105 

occupet  ablutum  scabrosa  sorde  nitorem, 

catholico  in  templo  divini  fontis  ad  aram 

consecrat,  aeterna  splendens  ubi  luce  coruscet. 

ecce  modesta  gravi  stabat  Patientia  vultu 
per  medias  inmota  acies  variosque  tumultus,  110 

vulneraque  et  rigidis  vitalia  perv'ia  pilis 
spectabat  defixa  oculos  et  lenta  manebat. 
banc  procul  Ira  tumens,  spumanti  fervida  rictu, 
sanguinea  intorquens  subfuso  lumina  felle, 
ut  belli  exsortem  teloque  et  voce  lacessit,  115 

inpatiensque  morae  conto  petit,  increpat  ore, 
hirsutas  quatiens  galeato  in  vertice  cristas. 
, "  en  tibi  Martis,"  ait,  "  spectatrix  libera  nostri, 
excipe  mortiferum  securo  pectore  ferrum, 
nee  doleas,  quia  turpe  tibi  gemuisse  dolorem."     120 
sic  ait,  et  stridens  sequitur  convicia  pinus 
per  teneros  crispata  notos,  et  certa  sub  ipsum 
defertur  stomachum  rectoque  inliditur  ictu, 
sed  resilit  duro  loricae  excussa  repulsu. 
provida  nam  Virtus  conserto  adamante  trilicem      125 


"  Throughout  these  lines  Prudentius  has  been  playing  on 
the  idea  of  baptism  as  a  purification.  God  is  the  "  spring  " 
whose  water  washes  awaj'  sin. 

286 


THE  FIGHT  FOR   MANSOUL 

be  kept  pure  for  their  own  king."  So  spake  Chastity, 
and  rejoicing  in  the  death  of  Lust,  whom  she  had 
slain,  washed  her  stained  sword  in  the  waters  of 
Jordan ;  for  a  red  dew  of  gore  had  clung  to  it  and 
befouled  the  bright  steel  from  the  wound.  So  the 
eonqueress  deftly  cleanses  the  conquering  blade  by 
bathing  it  in  the  stream,  dipping  it  in  to  wash  away 
the  stain  of  blood  that  came  from  her  foe's  throat ; 
and,  no  longer  content  to  sheathe  the  purified  sword, 
lest  rust  unseen  engross  the  clean,  bright  surface 
with  its  dirty  scurf,  she  dedicates  it  by  the  altar  of 
the  dhine  spring  <*  in  a  CathoHc  temple,  there  to 
shine  and  flash  with  unfading  Ught. 

Lo,  mild  Long-SufFering  was  standing  with  staid 
countenance,  unmoved  amid  the  battle  and  its  con- 
fused uproar,  -with  fixed  gaze  watching  the  wounds 
inflicted  as  the  stiff"  javelins  pierced  the  \'ital  parts 
while  she  waited  inactive.  On  her  from  a  distance 
swelhng  Wrath,  sho^ving  her  teeth  with  rage  and 
foaming  at  the  mouth,  darts  her  eyes,  all  shot  with 
blood  and  gall,  and  challenges  her  ^%-ith  weapon  and 
with  speech  for  taking  no  part  in  the  fight ;  irked  by 
her  hanging  back,  she  hurls  a  pike  at  her  and  assails 
her  -with  abuse,  tossing  the  shaggy  crests  on  her 
helmeted  head.  "  Here's  for  thee,"  she  cries,  "  that 
lookest  on  at  our  warfare  and  takest  no  side.  Receive 
the  death-stroke  in  thy  calm  breast,  and  betray  no 
pain,  since  it  is  dishonour  in  thine  eyes  to  utter  a  cry 
of  pain,"  So  speaks  she,  and  the  pine-shaft,  launched 
through  the  j-ielding  airs,  goes  hissing  after  her 
angry  words.  Sure-aimed,  it  hits  the  very  stomach 
and  smites  hard  with  full  force,  but  is  struck  off"  by 
the  resistance  of  a  hard  cuirass,  and  rebounds ;  for 
the  Virtue  had  prr-  "K--       •    . —''  -«"*""  "cx.cu, 

289 


PRUDENTIUS 

induerat  thoraca  umeris  squamosaque  ferri 

texta  per  intortos  conmiserat  undique  nervos. 

inde  quieta  manet  Patientia,  fortis  ad  omnes 

telorum  nimbos  et  non  penetrabile  durans. 

nee  mota  est  iaculo  monstri  sine  more  furentis,     130 

opperiens  propriis  perituram  viribus  Iram. 

scilicet  indomitos  postquam  stomachando  lacertos 

barbara  bellatrix  inpenderat  ft  iaculorum 

nube  supervacuam  lassaverat  inrita  dextram, 

cum  ventosa  levi  cecidissent  tela  volatu,  135 

iactibus  et  vacuis  hastilia  fracta  iacerent, 

vertitur   ad   capulum   manus   inproba   et   ense 

corusco 
conisa  in  plagam  dextra  sublimis  ab  aure 
erigitur  mediumque  ferit  librata  cerebrum, 
aerea  sed  cocto  cassis  formata  metallo  140 

tinnitum  percussa  refert  aciemque  retundit 
dura  resultantem,  frangit  quoque  vena  rebellis 
inlisum  chalybem,  dum  cedere  nescia  cassos 
excipit  adsultus  ferienti  et  tuta  resistit. 
Ira,  ubi  truncati  mucronis  fragmina  vidit  145 

et  procul  in  partes  ensem  crepuisse  minutas, 
iam  capulum  retinente  manu  sine  pondere  ferri, 
mentis  inops  ebur  infelix  decorisque  pudendi 
perfida  signa  abicit  monumentaque  tristia  longe 
spernit,  et  ad  proprium  succenditur  efFera  letum.   150 
missile  de  multis,  quae  frustra  sparserat,  unum 
pulvere  de  campi  perversos  sumit  in  usus : 
'■''^i]iggp.»^J^^|iumi  lignum  ac  se  cuspide  versa 

286 


THE  FIGHT  FOR  xMANSOUL 

three-ply  corselet  of  mail  impenetrable,  the  fabric  of 
iron  scales  joined  every  way  with  leathers  interlaced. 
So  Long-Suffering  abides  undisturbed,  bravely  facing 
all  the  hail  of  weapons  and  keeping  a  front  that  none 
can  pierce.  Standing  unmoved  by  the  javehn  while 
the  monster  that  shot  it  rages  in  ungovemed  frenzy, 
she  waits  for  Wrath  to  perish  by  reason  of  her  own 
violence.  And  when  the  barbarous  warrior  had 
spent  vriih  fuming  the  strength  of  her  unconquerable 
arms  and  by  showering  javelins  tired  out  her  right 
hand  with  no  success  till  it  was  useless,  since  her 
missiles,  ha\-ing  no  force  in  their  flight,  fell  ineffec- 
tual, and  the  shafts,  all  idly  cast,  lay  broken  on  the 
ground,  her  ruthless  hand  turned  to  her  sword-hilt. 
Putting  all  its  strength  into  a  blow  ^vith  the  flashing 
blade,  it  rises  high  above  her  right  ear  and  then, 
launching  its  stroke,  smites  her  foe's  head  in  the 
very  middle.  But  the  helmet  of  forged  bronze  only 
resounds  under  the  blow ;  the  blade  rebounds  with 
blunted  edge,  so  hard  it  is ;  the  unyielding  metal 
breaks  the  steel  that  smites  it,  unflinchingly  receives 
the  vain  attack,  and  stands  up  to  the  striker  without 
hurt.  Seeing  her  blade  shivered  in  pieces  and  how 
the  sword  has  scattered  away  in  rattling  fragments 
while  her  hand  still  grasps  the  hilt  after  it  has 
lost  its  weight  of  steel.  Wrath  is  beside  herself  and 
casts  away  the  luckless  ivory  that  has  been  false 
to  her,  the  token  of  honour  turned  to  shame. 
Afar  she  flings  that  unwelcome  reminder,  and  wild 
passion  fires  her  to  slay  herself.  One  of  the  many 
missiles  that  she  had  scattered  without  effect  she 
picks  up  from  the  dust  of  the  field,  for  an  un- 
natural use.  The  smooth  shaft  she  fixes  in  the 
ground  and  with  the  upturned  point  stabs  herself, 

289 

VOL.  I.  L 


PRUDENTIUS 

-- ^perfodit  et  calido  pulmonem  vulnere  transit, 
quam    super    adsistens    Patientia    "  vicimus," 

inquit, 
*'  exultans  Vitium  solita  virtute,  sine  ullo 
sanguinis  ac  vitae  discrimine  ;*'lex  habet  istud 
nostra  genus  belli,  furias  omnemque  malorum 
militiam  et  rabidas  tolerando  extinguere  vires, 
ipsa  sibi  est  hostis  vesania  seque  furendo 
interimit  moriturque  suis  Ira  ignea  telis." 
haec  effata  secat  medias  inpune  cohortes 
egregio  comitata  viro ;  nam  proximus  lob 
haeserat  invictae  dura  inter  bella  magistrae, 
fronte  severus  adhuc  et  multo  funere  anhelus,       ] 
sed  iam  clausa  truci  subridens  ulcera  vultu, 
perque  cicatricum  numerum  sudata  recensens 
millia  pugnarum,  sua  praemia,  dedecus  hostis. 
ilium  diva  iubet  tandem  requiescere  ab  omni 
armorum  strepitu,  captis  et  perdita  quaeque  ] 

multipHcare  opibus,  nee  iam  peritura  referre. 
ipsa  globos  legionum  et  concurrentia  rumpit 
agmina,  vulniferos  gradiens  intacta  per  imbres. 
omnibus  una  comes  Virtutibus  adsociatur, 
auxiliumque  suum  fortis  Patientia  miscet.  ] 

nulla  anceps  luctamen  init  Virtute  sine  ista 
Virtus,  nam  vidua  est  quam  non  Patientia  firmat. 

forte  per  efFusas  inflata  Superbia  turmas 
effreni  volitabat  equo,  quem  pelle  leonis 
texerat  et  validos  villis  oneraverat  armos,  ] 

quo  se  fulta  iubis  iactantius  ilia  ferinis 


/f 


1296 


V:?f 


dW 


THE  FIGHT  FOR  MANSOUL 

piercing  her  breast  with  a  burning  wound.  Standing 
over  her,  Long-SufFering  cries  :  "  We  have  overcome 
a  proud  Vice  with  our  wonted  virtue,  Avith  no  danger 
to  blood  or  life.  This  is  the  kind  of  warfare  that  is 
our  rule,  to  wipe  out  the  fiends  of  passion  and  all 
their  army  of  e\'ils  and  their  savage  strength  by 
bearing  their  attack.  Fury  is  its  own  enemy  ;  fiery 
Wrath  in  her  frenzy  slays  herself  and  dies  by  her  own 
weapons."  So  saying,  she  makes  her  way  unharmed 
through  the  midst  of  the  battalions,  escorted  by  a 
noble  man ;  for  Job  had  clung  close  to  the  side  of 
his  invincible  mistress  throughout  the  hard  battle, 
hitherto  grave  of  look  and  panting  from  the  slaughter 
of  many  a  foe,  but  now  with  a  smile  on  his  stem  face 
as  he  thought  of  his  healed  sores  and,  by  the  number 
of  his  scars,  recounted  his  thousands  of  hard- won 
fights,  his  O'vm  glory  and  his  foes'  dishonour.  Him 
the  heavenly  one  bids  rest  at  last  from  all  the  din 
of  arms  and  \\'ith  the  riches  of  his  spoils  make  mani- 
fold restitution  for  all  his  losses,  carrying  home 
things  that  shall  no  more  be  lost.  She  herself  presses 
through  the  massed  legions  and  clashing  columns, 
stepping  unhurt  amid  the  deadly  showers.  To  all 
the  Virtues  Long-Suffering  alone  joins  herself  in 
company  and  bravely  adds  her  help  ;  no  Virtue  enters 
on  the  hazard  of  the  struggle  >A-ithout  this  Virtue's 
aid,  for  she  has  nought  to  lean  upon,  whose  strength 
Long-SuiFering  does  not  uphold. 

It  chanced  that  Pride  was  galloping  about,  all 
puffed  up,  through  the  widespread  squadrons,  on  a 
mettled  steed  which  she  had  covered  with  a  hon's 
skin,  laying  the  weight  of  shaggy  hair  over  its  strong 
shoulders,  so  that  being  seated  on  the  wild  beast's 
mane  she  might  make  a  more  imposing  figure  as  she 

291 


ut 


PRUDENTIUS 

inferret  tumido  despectans  agmina  fastu. 
turritum  tortis  caput  adcumularat  in  altum 
crinibus,  extructos  augeret  ut  addita  cirros 
/  congeries  celsumque  apicem  frons  ardua  ferret.     185 
^       carbasea  ex  umeris  summo  collecta  coibat 
palla  sinu  teretem  nectens  a  pectore  nodum. 
a  cervice  fluens  tenui  velamine  limbus 
concipit  infestas  textis  turgentibus  auras, 
nee  minus  instabili  sonipes  feritate  superbit,  190 

inpatiens  madidis  frenarier  ora  lupatis. 
hue  illuc  frendens  obvertit  terga,  negata 
libertate  fugae,  pressisque  tumescit  habenis. 
hoc  sese  ostentans  habitu  ventosa  virago 
inter  utramque  aciem  supereminet  et  phaleratum  195 
circumflectit  equum,  vultuque  et  voce  minatur 
adversum  spectans  cuneum,  quem  milite  rare 
et  paupertinis  ad  bella  coegerat  armis 
Mens  Humilis,  regina  quidem,  sed  egens  alieni 
auxilii  proprio  nee  sat  confisa  paratu,  200 

Spem  sibi  collegam  coniunxerat,  edita  cuius 
et  suspensa  ab  humo  est  opulentia  divite  regno, 
ergo   Humilem   postquam  male   sana   Superbia 

Mentem 
vilibus  instructam  nullo  ostentamine  telis 
aspicit,  in  vocem  dictis  se  efFundit  amaris :  205 

"  non  pudet,  o  miseri,  plebeio  milite  claros 
adtemptare  duces  ferroque  lacessere  gentem 
insignem  titulis,  veteres  cui  bellica  virtus 
divitias  peperit,  laetos  et  gramine  colles 
imperio  calcare  dedit  ?  nunc  advena  nudus  210 

nititur  antiques,  si  fas  est,  pellere  reges ! 
en  qui  nostra  suis  in  praedam  cedere  dextris 


292 


C  \<' 


THE  FIGHT  FOR  MANSOUL 


looked  do^vn  on  the  columns  with  swelling  disdain. 
High  on  her  head  shehad  piled  a  tower  of  h^-aiflpd 
hair,  laying  on  a  mass  to  heighten  her  ^'^^^g  «"d 
make  a  lofty  peak  over  her  haughty  brows-  A  cam- 
bric mantle  hanging  from  her  shoulders  was  gathered 
high  on  her  breast  and  made  a  rounded  knot  on  her 
bosom,  and  from  her  neck  there  flowed  a  filmy 
streamer  that  billowed  as  it  caught  the  opposing 
breeze.  Her  charger  also,  too  spirited  to  stand  still, 
carries  itself  proudly,  ill  brooking  to  have  its  mouth 
curbed  vsith  the  bit  it  is  champing.  This  way  and 
that  it  backs  in  its  rage,  since  it  is  denied  freedom 
to  run  off  and  is  angered  at  the  pressure  of  the  reins. 
In  such  style  does  this  boastful  she-warrior  display 
herself,  towering  over  both  armies  as  she  circles 
round  on  her  bedecked  steed  and  with  menacing 
look  and  speech  eyes  the  force  that  confronts  her; 
a  force  but  small  in  number  and  scantily  armed,  that 
Lowliness  had  gathered  for  the  war — a  princess  she, 
indeed,  but  standing  in  need  of  others'  help  and 
wanting  trust  in  her  own  pro\ision.  She  had  made 
Hope  her  fellow,  whose  rich  estate  is  on  high  and 
Ufted  up  from  the  earth  in  a  wealthy  realm.  There- 
fore Pride  in  her  madness,  after  looking  on  Lowliness 
and  her  poor  equipment  of  paltrj'  arms  that  made  no 
display,  broke  forth  in  speech  with  bitter  words : 
"  Are  ye  not  ashamed,  ye  poor  creatures,  to 
challenge  famous  captains  with  troops  of  low  degree, 
to  take  the  sword  against  a  race  of  proud  distinction, 
whose  valour  in  war  has  long  won  wealth  for  it,-  and 
given  it  power  to  impose  its  rule  on  hills  where  rich 
grass  grows  ?  And  now — can  it  be  ? — a  newcomer 
with  nothing  is  trj'ing  to  drive  out  the  ancient 
princes !     Behold   the   warriors   who   will  have   our 

293 


PRUDENTIUS 

sceptra  volunt !  en  qui  nostras  sulcare  novales 
arvaque  capta  manu  popularier  hospite  aratro 
contendunt,  duros  et  pellere  Marte  colonos !  215 

nempe,  o  ridiculum  vulgus,  natalibus  horis 
totum  hominem  et  calidos  a  matre  amplectimur 

artus, 
vimque  potestatum  per  membra  recentis  alumni 
spargimus,    et   rudibus   dominamur   in   ossibus 

omnes. 
quis  locus  in  nostra  tunc  vobis  sede  dabatur,  220 

congenitis  cum  regna  simul  dicionibus  aequo 
robore  crescebant  ?   nati  nam  luce  sub  una 
et  domus  et  domini  paribus  adolevimus  annis, 
ex  quo  plasma  novum  de  consaepto  paradisi 
limite  progrediens  amplum  transfugit  in  orbem,    225 
pellitosque  habitus  sumpsit  venerabilis  Adam, 
nudus  adhuc,  ni  nostra  foret  praecepta  secutus. 
quisnam  iste  ignotis  hostis  nunc  surgit  ab  oris 
inportunus,  iners,  infelix,  degener,  amens, 
qui  sibi  tam  serum  ius  vindicat,  hactenus  exul  ?     230 
nimiruin  vacuae  credentur  frivola  famae, 
quae  miseros  optare  iubet  quandoque  futuri 
spem  fortasse  boni,  lenta  ut  solacia  mollem 
desidiam  pigro  rerum  meditamine  palpent. 
quidni  illos  spes  palpet  iners,  quos  pulvere  in  Isto    235 
tirones  Bellona  truci  non  excitat  aere, 
inbellesque  animos  virtus  tepefacta  resolvit  ? 
anne  Pudicitiae  gelidum  iecur  utile  bello  est  ? 
an  tenerum  Pietatis  opus  sudatur  in  armis  ? 
quam  pudet,  o  Mavors  et  virtus  conscia,  talem      240 


294 


THE   FIGHT  FOR  MANSOUL 

sceptres  become  the  spoil  of  their  right  hands,  who 
seek  to  drive  the  furrow  over  lands  that  fve  have 
broken  up,  to  ravage  with  a  strangers'  plough  the 
soil  our  hands  have  taken,  and  with  war  expel  its 
hardy  cultivators  !  Absurd  mob !  Why,  in  the  hour 
of  birth  we  embrace  the  whole  man,  his  frame  still 
warm  from  his  mother,  and  extend  the  strength  of 
our  power  through  the  body  of  the  new-bom  child, 
we  are  lords  and  masters  all  within  the  tender 
bones.  WTiat  place  in  our  abode  was  granted  to 
you  when  the  grovring  strength  of  our  realm  was 
matched  by  that  of  the  sovereignty  that  was  bom 
with  it  ?  For  both  the  house  and  its  masters  were 
bom  on  the  same  day  and  we  grew  side  by  side 
as  the  years  passed,  since  the  time  when  the  first 
man,  going  forth  from  the  hedged  bounds  of  Eden, 
went  over  into  the  vride  world,  and  the  venerable 
Adam  clothed  himself  with  skins,  whereas  he  had 
been  naked  still,  had  he  not  followed  our  instruc- 
tion. WTiat  foe  is  this  that  from  shores  unknown 
arises  now  to  trouble  us,  a  spiritless,  luckless,  base, 
insensate  foe,  who  claims  his  rights  so  late,  after 
banishment  till  now  ?  Doubtless  there  will  be  trust 
in  the  silly  dreams  of  the  vain  talk  which  bids  poor 
wretches  choose  the  hope  of  a  good  that  may  some 
day  come  to  pass,  so  that  its  feckless  consolations 
flatter  their  unmanly  sloth  with  idle  expectation! 
Ay,  a  nerveless  hope  it  must  be  that  flatters  these  raw 
troops,  for  in  the  dust  of  battle  here  the  bray  of  the 
War-Queen's  trumpet  does  not  rouse  them,  and  their 
courage  is  not  hot  enough  to  brace  their  unwarlike 
spirit.  Is  Chastity's  cold  stomach  of  any  use  in  war, 
or  Brotherly  Love's  soft  work  done  by  stress  of  battle  ? 
WTiat  shame  it  is,  O  god  of  war,  O  valorous  heart  of 

295 


PRUDENTIUS 

contra  stare  aciem  ferroque  lacessere  nugas, 
et  cum  virgineis  dextram  conferre  choreis, 
lustitia  est  ubi  semper  egens  et  pauper  Honestas, 
arida  Sobrietas,  albo  leiunia  vultu, 
sanguine  vix  tenui  Pudor  interfusus,  aperta  245 

Simplicitas  et  ad  omne  patens  sine  tegmine  vulnus, 
et  prostrata  in  humum  nee  libera  iudice  sese     * 
Mens     Humilis,    quam    degenerem    trepidatio 

prodit ! 
faxo  ego,  sub  pedibus  stipularum  more  teratur 
invalida  ista  manus ;    neque  enim  perfringere 

duris  250 

dignamur  gladiis,  algenti  et  sanguine  ferrum 
inbuere  fragilique  viros  foedare  triumpho." 
talia  vociferans  rapidum  calcaribus  urget 
cornipedem  laxisque  volat  temeraria  frenis, 
hostem  humilem  cupiens  inpulsu  umbonis  equini  255 
stemere  deiectamque  supercalcare  ruinam. 
sed  cadit  in  foveam  praeceps,  quam  callida  forte 
Fraus  interciso  subfoderat  aequore  furtim, 
P'raus  detestandis  Vitiorum  e  pestibus  una, 
fallendi  versuta  opifex,  quae  praescia  belli  260 

planitiem  scrobibus  vitiaverat  insidiosis 
hostili  de  parte  latens,  ut  fossa  ruentes 
exciperet  cuneos  atque  agmina  mersa  voraret ; 
ac  ne  fallacem  puteum  deprendere  posset 
cauta  acies,  virgis  adopertas  texerat  oras,  265 

et  superinposito  simularat  caespite  campum. 
at  regina  humilis,  quamvis  ignara,  manebat 
ulteriore  loco  nee  adhuc  ad  Fraudis  opertum 
venerat  aut  foveae  calcarat  furta  malignae. 
hunc  eques  ilia  dolum,  dum  fertur  praepete  cursu,  270 
incidit,  et  caecum  subito  patefecit  liiatum. 

296 


THE  FIGHT  FOR  MANSOUL 

mine,  to  face  such  an  army  as  this,  to  take  the  sword 
against  such  trumpery,  and  engage  with  troupes  of 
girls,  among  them  beggarly  Righteousness  and 
poverty-stricken  Honesty,  dried-up  Soberness  and 
white-faced  Fasting,  Purity  vrith.  scarce  a  tinge  of 
blood  to  colour  her  cheeks,  unarmed  Simplicity 
exposed  with  no  protection  to  every  wound,  and 
Lowliness  humbling  herself  to  the  ground,  with  no 
freedom  even  in  her  own  eves,  and  whose  agitation 
betrays  her  ignoble  spirit !  "^I  shall  have  this  feeble 
band  trodden  down  hke  stubble ;  for  we  disdain  to 
shatter  them  with  our  stark  swords,  to  dip  our  blades 
in  their  frigid  blood,  and  disgrace  our  warriors  mth  a 
triumph  that  needs  no  manhood."  Thus  exclaiming 
she  spurs  on  her  smft  charger  and  flies  wildly  along 
with  loose  rein,  eager  to  upset  her  lowly  enemy  with 
the  shock  of  her  horse-hide  shield  and  trample  on  her 
fallen  body.  But  she  falls  headlong  into  a  pit  which  as 
it  chanced  cunning  Deceit  had  privily  dug  across  the 
field — Deceit,  one  of  those  cursed  plagues,  the  Vices, 
a  crafty  worker  of  trickery,  who  foreseeing  the  war 
had  secretly  broken  the  level  earth  with  treacherous 
trenches  on  the  enemy's  side,  that  the  ditch  might 
catch  their  regiments  in  their  onrush  and  the  columns 
plunge  into  it  and  be  swallowed  up ;  and  lest  the 
army  should  be  watchful  and  discover  the  pit  that 
was  set  to  deceive  it,  she  had  concealed  the  edges 
by  covering  them  with  branches  and  laying  turf  over 
them  to  simulate  ground.  But  the  lowly  princess, 
though  knowing  nought  of  this,  was  still  on  the 
further  side,  and  had  not  yet  come  up  to  Deceit's 
trap  nor  set  foot  on  the  craftily  hidden  pit  that  meant 
her  ill.  Into  the  snare  has  fallen  that  rider  as  she 
galloped  in  swift  career,  and  suddenly  revealed  the 

297 
1.2 


PRUDENTIUS 

prona  ruentis  equi  cervice  involvitur,  ac  sub 

pectoris  inpressu  fracta  inter  crura  rotatur. 

at  Virtus  placidi  moderaminis,  ut  levitatem 

prospicit  obtritam  monstri  sub  morte  iacentis,       275 

intendit  gressum  mediocriter,  os  quoque  parce 

erigit  et  comi  moderatur  gaudia  vultu. 

cunctanti  Spes  fida  comes  succurrit  et  offert 

ultorem  gladium  laudisque  inspirat  amorera. 

ilia  cruentatam  correptis  jgjinibu§,  hostem  280 

protrahit  et  faciem  laeva  revocante  supinat, 

tunc  caput  orantis  flexa  cervice  resectum  ' 

eripit  ac  madido  suspendit  colla  capillo. 

extinctum  Vitiuiji  sancto  Spes  increpat  ore  : 

"  Desine    grande    loqui;     frangit    Deus    omne 

superbum,  285 

magna  cadunt,  inflata  crepant,  tumefacta  pre- 

muntur. 
disce  supercilium  deponere,  disce  cavere 
ante  pedes  foveam,  quisquis  sublime  minaris. 
pervulgata  viget  nostri  sententia  Christi 
scandere  celsa  humiles  et  ad  ima  redire  feroces.    290 
vidimus  horrendum  membris  animisque  Goliam 
invalida  cecidisse  manu  :  puerilis  in  ilium 
dextera  fundali  torsit  stridore  lapillum 
traiectamque  cave  penetravit  vulnere  frontem. 
ille  minax,  rigidus,  iactans,  truculentus,  amarus,    295 
dum  tumet  indomitum,  dum  formidabile  fervet, 
dum  sese  ostentat,  clipeo  dum  territat  auras, 
expertus  pueri  quid  possint  ludicra  parvi 
subcubuit  teneris  bellator  turbidus  annis. 
me  tunc  ille  puer  virtutis  pube  secutus  300 

298 


THE   FIGHT  FOR  MANSOUL 

secret  gulf.  Thro's^Ti  forward,  she  clings  around  the 
horse's  neck  in  its  tumble ;  the  weight  of  its  breast 
comes  down  on  her  and  she  is  tossed  about  among  its 
broken  legs.  But  the  quiet,  self-controlled  Virtue, 
seeing  the  vain  monster  crushed  and  lying  at  the 
point  of  death,  bends  her  steps  calmly  towards  her, 
raising  her  face  a  little  and  tempering  her  joy  with 
a  look  of  kindUness.  As  she  hesitates,  her  faithful 
comrade  Hope  comes  to  her  side,  holds  out  to  her 
the  sword  of  vengeance,  and  breathes  into  her  the 
love  of  glorj'.  Grasping  her  blood-stained  enemy  by 
'^ihehair,  she  drags  her  out  and  with  her  left  hand 
turns  her  face  upwards ;  then,  though  she  begs  for 
mercy,  bends  the  neck,  severs  the  head,  lifts  it  and 
holds  it  up  by  the  dripping  locks.  Hope  ^\•ith  her 
pure  lips  upbraids  the  dead  Vice:  "  An  end  to  thy 
big  talk !  God  breaks  down  all  arrogance.  Greatness 
falls  ;  the  bubble  bursts ;  swollen  pride  is  flattened. 
Learn  to  put  away  disdain,  learn  to  beware  of  the  pit 
before  your  feet,  all  ye  that  are  ovenveening.  Well 
known  and  true  is  the  saying  of  our  Christ  that  the 
lowly  ascend  to  high  places  and  the  proud  are  reduced 
to  low  degree.  We  have  seen  how  Goliath,  terrible 
as  he  was  in  body  and  in  valour,  fell  by  a  weak  hand ; 
it  was  but  a  boy's  right  hand  that  shot  at  him  a  little 
stone  whizzing  from  his  sling,  and  pierced  a  hole  deep 
in  his  forehead.  He,  for  all  his  stark  menace,  his 
boasting  and  his  fierce  and  bitter  speech,  in  the 
midst  of  his  ungoverned  pride  and  fearful  raging,  as 
he  vaunted  himself,  affrighting  the  heavens  \rith  his 
shield,  found  what  a  Uttle  child's  toy  can  do,  and 
wild  man  of  war  as  he  was,  fell  to  a  lad  of  tender 
years.  That  day  the  lad,  in  the  ripening  of  his 
valour,  followed  me ;   as  his  spirit  came  to  its  bloom 

299 


PRUDENTIUS 

florentes  animos  sursum  in  mea  regna  tetendit, 
servatur  quia  certa  mihi  domus  omnipotentis 
sub  pedibus  Domini,  meque  ad  sublime  vocantera 
victores  caesa  culparum  labe  capessunt." 
dixit,  et  auratis  praestringens  aera  pinnis  305 

in  caelum  se  virgo  rapit.     mirantur  euntem 
Virtutes  tolluntque  animos  in  vota  volentes 
ire  simul,  ni  bella  duces  terrena  retardent. 
confligunt  Vitiis  seque  ad  sua  praemia  servant. 

venerat  occiduis  mundi  de  finibus  hostis  310 

Luxuria,  extinctae  iamdudum  prodiga  famae, 
delibuta  comas,  oculis  vaga,  languida  voce, 
perdita  deliciis,  vitae  cui  causa  voluptas, 
elumbem  mollire  animum,  petulanter  amoenas 
haurire  inlecebras  et  fractos  solvere  sensus.  315 

ac  tunc  pervigilem  ructabat  marcida  cenam, 
sub  lucem  quia  forte  iacens  ad  fercula  raucos 
audierat  lituos,  atque  inde  tepentia  linquens 
pocula  lapsanti  per  vina  et  balsama  gressu 
ebria  calcatis  ad  bellum  floribus  ibat.  320 

non  tamen  ilia  pedes,  sed  curru  invecta  venusto 
saucia  mirantum  capiebat  corda  virorum. 
o  nova  pugnandi  species !   non  ales  harundo 
nervum  pulsa  fugit,  nee  stridula  lancea  torto 
emicat  amento,  frameam  nee  dextra  minatur ;       325 
sed  violas  lasciva  iacit  foliisque  rosarum 
dimicat  et  calathos  inimica  per  agmina  fundit. 
inde  eblanditis  Virtutibus  halitus  inlex 


"  Why  western  ?  Luxury  is  usually  spoken  of  as  coming 
from  the  east.  Many  tentative  explanations  have  been 
offered,  one  of  them  (with  which  Mr.  T.  R.  Glover  agrees) 
that  Rome  is  meant. 

"  Wine  was  often  mixed  with  warm  water. 

300 


THE  FIGHT  FOR  MANSOUL 

he  lifted  it  up  towards  my  kingdom  ;  because  for  me 
is  kept  a  sure  home  at  the  feet  of  the  all-powerful 
Lord,  and  when  I  call  men  on  high  the  \-ictors  who 
have  cut  down  the  sins  that  stain  them  reach  after 
me."  With  these  words,  striking  the  air  ^nth  her 
gilded  wings,  the  maid  flies  off  to  heaven.  The 
Virtues  marvel  at  her  as  she  goes  and  lift  up  their 
hearts  in  longing,  desiring  to  go  with  her,  did  not 
earthly  warfare  detain  them  in  command.  They  join 
in  conflict  with  the  \  ices  and  reserve  themselves  for 
their  own  due  reward. 

From  the  western  "  bounds  of  the  world  had  come 
their  foe  Indulgence,  one  that  had  long  lost  her 
repute  and  so  cared  not  to  save  it;  her  locks  per- 
fumed, her  eyes  siiifting,  her  voice  listless,  abandoned 
in  voluptuousness  she  lived  only  for  pleasure,  to 
make  her  spirit  soft  and  nerveless,  in  wantonness 
to  drain  alluring  delights,  to  enfeeble  and  undo  her 
understanding.  Even  then  she  was  languidly  belch- 
ing after  a  night-long  feast ;  for  as  it  chanced  da.vm 
was  coming  in  and  she  was  still  reclining  by  the 
table  when  she  heard  the  hoarse  trumpets,  and  she 
^  left  the  lukewarm  *  cups,  her  foot  sUpping  as  she 
stepped  through  pools  of  Avine  and  perfumes,  and 
trampling  on  the  flowers,  and  was  making  her 
drunken  way  to  the  war.  Yet  it  was  not  on  foot, 
but  riding  in  a  beauteous  chariot  that  she  struck  and 
won  the  hearts  of  the  admiring  fighters.  Strange 
warfare !  No  swift  arrow  is  sped  in  flight  from  her 
bowstring,  no  lash-thrown  lance  shoots  forth  hissing, 
her  hand  wields  no  menacing  sword ;  but  as  if  in 
sport  she  throws  violets  and  fights  \\ith  rose-leaves, 
scattering  baskets  of  flowers  over  her  adversaries.  So 
the  Virtues  are  won  over  by  her  charms ;  the  alluring 

301 


PRUDENTIUS 

inspirat  tenerum  labefacta  per  ossa  venenum, 

et  male  dulcis  odor  domat  ora  et  pectora  et  arma  330 

ferratosque  toros  obliso  robore  mulcet. 

deiciunt  animos  ceu  victi  et  spicula  ponunt, 

turpiter,  heu,  dextris  languentibus  obstupefacti 

dum  currum  varia  gemniarum  luce  micantem 

mirantur,  dum  bratteolis  crepitantia  lora  335 

et  solido  ex  auro  pretiosi  ponderis  axem 

defixis  inhiant  obtutibus  et  radiorum 

argento  albentem  seriem,  quam  summa  rotarum 

flexura  electri  pallentis  continet  orbe. 

et  iam  cuncta  acies  in  deditionis  amorem  340 

sponte  sua  versis  transibat  perfida  signis 

Luxuriae  servire  volens  dominaeque  fluentis 

iura  pati  et  laxa  ganearum  lege  teneri. 

ingemuit  tam  triste  nefas  fortissima  Virtus 

Sobrietas,  dextro  socios  decedere  cornu  345 

invictamque  manum  quondam  sine  caede  perire. 

vexillum  sublime  crucis,  quod  in  agmine  primo 

dux  bona  praetulerat,  defixa  cuspide  sistit, 

instauratque  levem  dictis  mordacibus  alam 

exstimulans   animos   nunc   probris,   nunc   prece 

mixta :  350 

"  quis  furor  insanas  agitat  caligine  mentes  ? 
quo  ruitis  ?  cui  colla  datis  ?  quae  vincula  tandem, 
pro  pudor,  armigeris  amor  est  perferre  lacertis, 
lilia  luteolis  interlucentia  sertis 

et  ferrugineo  vernantes  flore  coronas  ?  355 

his  placet  adsuetas  bello  iam  tradere  palmas 
nexibus,  his  rigidas  nodis  innectier  ulnas, 

302 


THE  FIGHT  FOR  MANSOUL 

breath  blows  a  subtle  poison  on  them  that  unmans 
their  frames,  the  fatally  sweet  scent  subduing  their 
lips  and  hearts  and  weapons,  softening  their  iron-clad 
muscles  and  crushing  their  strength.  Their  courage 
drops  as  in  defeat ;  they  lay  down  their  javelins, 
their  hands,  alas  !  enfeebled,  all  to  their  shame  struck 
dumb  in  their  wonder  at  the  chariot  gleaming  \Wth 
flashing  gems  of  varied  hue,  as  Anth  fixed  gaze  they 
look  longingly  at  the  reins  with  their  tinkling  gold- 
foil,  the  heavy  axle  of  solid  gold,  so  costly,  the  spokes, 
one  after  another,  of  white  silver,  the  rim  of  the 
wheel  holding  them  in  place  ^^^th  a  circle  of  pale 
electrimi.  And  by  this  time  the  whole  array,  its 
standards  turned  about,  was  treacherously  submitting 
of  its  o^^•n  will  to  a  desire  to  surrender,  wishing  to  be 
the  slaves  of  Indulgence,  to  bear  the  yoke  of  a 
debauched  mistress,  and  be  governed  by  the  loose 
law  of  the  pot-house.  The  stout-hearted  Virtue 
Soberness  mourned  to  see  a  crime  so  sore,  her  allies 
deserting  the  right  ^nng,  a  band  once  in\-incible  being 
lost  AAithout  shedding  of  blood.  Like  the  good 
leader  she  is,  she  had  carried  the  standard  of  the  cross 
at  the  head  of  her  troops,  and  now  she  plants  the  spike 
in  the  ground  and  sets  it  up,  and  with  biting  words 
restores  her  unsteady  regiment,  mingling  appeals 
with  her  reproaches  to  awake  their  courage  :  "  What 
blinding  madness  is  vexing  your  disordered  minds  ? 
To  what  fate  are  you  rushing  ?  To  whom  are  you 
bo\^'ing  the  neck  ?  What  bonds  are  these  (for 
shame !)  you  long  to  bear  on  arms  that  were  meant 
for  weapons,  these  yellow  garlands  interspersed  with 
bright  lilies,  these  ^\Teaths  blooming  with  red-hued 
flowers?  Is  it  to  chains  like  these  you  will  give 
up  hands  trained  to  war,  with  these  bind  your  stout 


PRUDENTIUS 

ut  mitra  caesariem  cohibens  aurata  virilem 

conbibat  infusum  croceo  religamine  nardum, 

post  inscripta  oleo  frontis  signacula,  per  quae        360 

unguentum  regale  datum  est  et  chrisma  perenne, 

ut  tener  incessus  vestigia  syrmate  verrat 

sericaque  infractis  fluitent  ut  pallia  membris, 

post  inmortalem  tunicam  quam  pollice  docto 

texuit  alma  Fides,  dans  inpenetrabile  tegmen       365 

pectoribus  lotis,  dederat  quibus  ipsa  renasci, 

inde  ad  nocturnas  epulas,  ubi  cantharus  ingens 

despuit  efFusi  spumantia  damna  Falerni 

in  mensam  cyathis  stillantibus,  uda  ubi  multo 

fulcra  mero  veterique  toreumata  rore  rigantur  ?    370 

excidit  ergo  animis  eremi  sitis,  excidit  ille 

fons  patribus  de  rupe  datus,  quem  mystica  virga 

elicuit  scissi  salientem  vertiee  saxi  ? 

angelicusne  cibus  prima  in  tentoria  vestris 

fluxit  avis,  quem  nunc  sero  felicior  aevo  375 

vespertinus  edit  populus  de  corpore  Christi  ? 

his  vos  inbutos  dapibus  iam  crapula  turpis 

Luxuriae  ad  madidum  rapit  inportuna  lupanar, 

quosque  viros  non  Ira  fremens,  non  idola  bello 

cedere  conpulerant,  saltatrix  ebria  flexit !  380 

state,  precor,  vestri  memores,  memores  quoque 

Christi. 
quae  sit  vestra  tribus,  quae  gloria,  quis  Deus  et 

rex, 
quis  Dominus  meminisse  decet.     vos  nobile  ludae 
germen  ad  usque  Dei  genetricem,  qua  Deus  ipse 

3°4 


THE  FIGHT  FOR   MANSOUL 

arms,  to  have  your  manly  hair  confined  by  a  gilded 
turban  ^^-ith  its  yellow  band  to  soak  up  the  spikenard 
you  pour  on,  and  this  after  you  have  had  inscribed 
with  oil  on  your  brows  the  signs  whereby  was  given 
to  you  the  king's  anointing,  his  everlasting  unction  ? 
To  walk  softly  ^Wth  a  train  sweeping  the  path  you 
have  trod  ?  To  wear  flowing  robes  of  silk  on  your 
enfeebled  frames,  after  the  immortal  tunic  that 
bountiful  Faith  wove  with  deft  fingers,  giving  an 
impenetrable  covering  to  cleansed  hearts  to  which 
she  had  already  given  rebirth  ?  And  so  to  feasts  that 
last  into  the  night,  where  the  great  tankard  spills 
out  wasted  floods  of  foaming  wine,  while  the  ladles 
drip  on  to  the  table,  the  couches  are  soaked  with  neat 
liquor,  and  their  embossed  ornaments  still  wet  with 
the  dew  of  yesterday  ?  Have  you  forgotten,  then,  the 
thirst  in  the  desert,  the  spring  that  was  given  to 
your  fathers  from  the  rock,  when  the  mystic  wand 
spUt  the  stone  and  brought  water  leaping  from  its 
top?  Did  not  food  that  angels  brought  flow  into 
your  fathers'  tents  in  early  days,  that  food  which 
now  >Wth  better  fortune,  in  the  lateness  of  time,  near 
the  end  of  the  world's  day,  the  people  eats  from  the 
body  of  Christ  ?  And  it  is  after  tasting  of  this 
banquet  that  you  let  shameful  debauchery'  carrj'  you 
relentlessly  to  the  drunken  den  of  Indulgence,  and 
soldiers  whom  no  raging  Wrath  nor  idols  could  force 
by  war  to  yield  have  been  prevailed  on  by  a  tipsy 
dancer  !  Stand,  I  pray  you.  Remember  who  ye  are, 
remember  Christ  too.  Ye  should  bethink  yourselves 
of  your  nation  and  your  fame,  your  God  and  King, 
your  Lord.  Ye  are  the  high-born  children  of  Judah 
and  have  come  of  a  long  Une  of  noble  ancestors  that 
stretches  down  to  the  mother  of  God,  by  whom  God 

305 


PRUDENTIUS 

esset  homo,  procerum  venistis  sanguine  longo.     385 
excitet  egregias  mentes  celeberrima  David 
gloria  continuis  bellorum  exercita  curis, 
excitet  et  Samuel,  spolium  qui  divite  ab  hoste 
adtrectare  vetat  nee  victum  vivere  regem 
incircumcisum  patitur,  ne  praeda  superstes  390 

victorem  placidum  recidiva  in  proelia  poscat. 
parcere  iam  capto  crimen  putat  ille  tyranno, 
at  vobis  contra  vinci  et  subcumbere  votum  est. 
paeniteat,  per  si  qua  movet  reverentia  summi 
numinis,  hoc  tam  dulce  malum  voluisse  nefanda    395 
proditione  sequi ;   si  paenitet,  haud  nocet  error, 
paenituit  lonatham  ieiunia  sobria  dulci 
conviolasse  favo  sceptri  mellisque  sapore 
heu  male  gustato,  regni  dum  blanda  voluptas 
oblectat  iuvenem  iurataque  sacra  resolvit.  400 

sed  quia  paenituit,  nee  sors  lacrimabilis  ilia  est, 
nee  tinguit  patrias  sententia  saeva  secures, 
en  ego  Sobrietas,  si  conspirare  paratis, 
pando  viam  cunctis  Virtutibus,  ut  malesuada 
Luxuries,  multo  stipata  satellite,  poenas  405 

cum  legione  sua  Christo  sub  iudice  pendat." 
sic  efFata  crucem  Domini  ferventibus  offert 
obvia  quadriiugis,  lignum  venerabile  in  ipsos 
intentans  frenos.     quod  ut  expavere  feroces 
cornibus  obpansis  et  summa  fronte  coruscum,        410 
vertunt  praecipitem  caeca  formidine  fusi 
per  praerupta  fugam.     fertur  resupina  reductis 
nequiquam  loris  auriga  comamque  madentem 

"  Cf.  1  Samuel  xv. 

*  Cf.  1  Samuel  xiv,  24  fF.  It  has  been  suggested  that 
Prudentius  in  lines  399  and  400  confuses  the  story  of  Jonathan 
with  that  of  Absalom ;  but  perhaps  he  is  only  reading  too 
much  into  the  words  of  Jonathan  in  verses  29  and  30. 

306 


THE  FIGHT  FOR  MANSOUL 

himself  was  to  become  man.  Let  the  renowned 
Da\-id,  who  never  rested  from  the  troubles  of  war, 
awake  your  noble  spirits ;  and  Samuel  too,  who  for- 
bids touching  the  sjx)il  taken  from  a  rich  foe,  nor 
suffers  the  imcircumcised  king  to  live  after  his  defeat, 
lest  the  captive,  were  he  allowed  to  sur\-ive,  summon 
the  victor  from  his  life  of  peace  to  a  renewal  of  war.* 
He  counts  it  sin  to  spare  the  monarch  even  as  a 
prisoner;  but  your  desire,  on  the  contrary,  is  to  be 
conquered  and  submit.  Repent,  I  beseech  you  by 
the  fear  of  the  high  God,  if  at  all  it  moves  you,  that 
you  have  desired  to  follow  after  this  pleasant  sin, 
committing  a  heinous  betrayal.  If  ye  repent,  your 
sin  is  not  deadly.  Jonathan  repented  that  he  had 
broken  the  sober  fast  with  the  sweet  honeycomb, 
tasting,  aleis !  in  an  evil  hour  the  savour  of  honey  on 
his  rod,  when  the  tempting  desire  to  be  king  charmed 
his  young  mind  and  broke  the  holy  vow.*  Yet 
because  he  repented  we  do  not  have  to  lament  the 
fate  that  was  decreed,  and  the  cruel  sentence  did  not 
stain  his  father's  axe.  Lo,  I,  Soberness,  if  ye  make 
ready  to  concert  with  me,  open  up  a  way  for  all  the 
Virtues  whereby  the  temptress  Indulgence,  for  all 
her  great  train,  shall  pay  the  penalty,  she  and  her 
regiment,  under  the  judgment  of  Christ."  So  speak- 
ing, she  holds  up  the  cross  of  the  Lord  in  face  of  the 
raging  chariot-horses,  thrusting  the  holy  wood 
against  their  very  bridles ;  and  for  all  their  boldness 
they  have  taken  fright  at  its  outspread  arms  and 
flashing  top,'  and  in  the  rout  of  blind  panic  career 
down  a  steep  place.  Their  driver,  leaning  far  back 
and  pulling  on  the  reins,  is  carried  helplessly  along, 

'  The  top  of  the  cross  being  decorated  with  precious  metal 
or  jewels. 


PRUDENTIUS 

pulvere  foedatur.     tunc  et  vertigo  rotarum 
inplicat  excussam  dominam ;  nam  prona  sub  axem  415 
labitur  et  lacero  tardat  sufflamine  currum. 
addit  Sobrietas  vulnus  letale  iacenti, 
coniciens  silicem  rupis  de  parte  molarem. 
hunc  vexilliferae  quoniam  fors  obtulit  ictum 
spicula  nulla  manu  sed  belli  insigne  gerenti,  420 

casus  agit  saxum,  medii  spiramen  ut  oris 
frangeret,  et  recavo  misceret  labra  palato. 
dentibus  introrsum  resolutis  lingua  resectam 
dilaniata  gulam  frustis  cum  sanguinis  inplet, 
insolitis  dapibus  crudescit  guttur,  et  ossa  425 

conliquefacta  vorans  re  vomit  quas  hauserat  offas. 
"  ebibe  iam  proprium  post  pocula  multa  cruo- 

rem," 
virgo   ait   increpitans,   "  sint   haec   tibi   fercula 

tandem 
tristia  praeteriti  nimiis  pro  dulcibus  aevi. 
lascivas  vitae  inlecebras  gustatus  amarae  430 

mortis  et  horrifico  sapor  ultimus  asperat  haustu."  ^ 
caede  ducis  dispersa  fugit  trepidante  pavore 
nugatrix  acies.     locus  et  Petulantia  primi 
cymbala  proiciunt ;   bellum  nam  talibus  armis 
ludebant  resono  meditantes  vulnera  sistro.  435 

dat  tergum  fugitivus  Amor,  lita  tela  veneno 
et    lapsum    ex    umeris    arcum    pharetramque 

cadentem 
pallidus  ipse  metu  sua  post  vestigia  linquit. 
Pompa,  ostentatrix  vani  splendoris,  inani 
exuitur  nudata  peplo  ;   discissa  trahuntur  440 

serta  Venustatis  collique  ac  verticis  aurum 

^  The  Qth-century  MS.  originally  had  horrifico  .  .  .  asperat 
haustus,  which  was  altered  to  horrificos  .  .  .  asperet  haustus. 
Bergman  adopts  the  latter  reading. 

308 


THE  FIGHT  FOR  MANSOUL 

her  dripping  locks  befouled  with  dust ;  then  she  is 
thrown  out  and  the  whirling  "wheels  entangle  her 
who  was  their  mistress,  for  she  falls  forward  under 
the  axle  and  her  mangled  body  is  the  brake  that 
slows  the  chariot  do"vvn.  Soberness  gives  her  the 
death-blow  as  she  Ues,  hurling  at  her  a  great  stone 
from  the  rock.  As  chance  has  put  this  weapon  in  the 
standard-bearer's  way  (for  she  carries  no  javehns  in 
her  hand,  but  only  the  emblem  of  her  warfare), 
chance  drives  the  stone  to  smash  the  breath-passage 
in  the  midst  of  the  face  and  beat  the  lips  into  the 
arched  mouth.  The  teeth  within  are  loosened,  the 
gullet  cut,  and  the  mangled  tongue  fills  it  with 
bloody  fragments.  Her  gorge  rises  at  the  strange 
meal ;  gulping  do\\'n  the  pulped  bones  she  spews  up. 
again  the  limaps  she  swallowed.  "  Drink  up  now 
thine  own  blood,  after  thy  many  cups,"  says  the 
maiden,  upbraiding  her.  "  Be  these  thy  grim 
dainties,  in  place  of  the  too  much  sweetness  thou 
hast  enjoyed  in  time  past.  The  taste  of  bitter 
death  in  thy  mouth,  the  savouring  of  this  final, 
ghastly  draught,  turns  to  gall  the  wanton  delights 
that  allured  thee  in  thy  Ufe."  At  the  slaughter  of 
its  leader  her  company  of  triflers  scatters  and 
nms  in  a  flutter  of  fear.  Jest  and  Sauciness  first  cast 
away  their  c}Tnbals ;  for  it  was  Avith  such  weap>ons  that 
they  played  at  war,  thinking  to  wound  ^rith  the  noise 
of  a  rattle !  Desire  turns  his  back  in  flight.  Pale 
himself  ^Wth  fear,  he  leaves  behind  his  poisoned  darts, 
abandoning  his  bow  where  it  has  shpped  from  his 
shoulder,  his  quiver  where  it  falls.  Ostentation,  that 
parader  of  empty  grandeur,  is  stripped  bare  of  her 
vain  flowing  robe.  Allurement's  garlands  are  torn 
and  trail  behind  her,  the  gold  on  her  neck  and  head 

309 


PRUDENTIUS 

solvitur,  et  gemmas  Discordia  dissona  turbat. 
non  piget  adtritis  pedibus  per  acuta  frutecta 
ire  Voluptatem,  quoniam  vis  maior  acerbam 
conpellit  tolerare  fugam  ;  formido  pericli  445 

praedurat  teneras  iter  ad  cruciabile  plantas. 
qua  se  cumque  fugax  trepidis  fert  cursibus  agmen, 
damna  iaeent,  crinalis  acus,  redimicula,  vittae, 
fibula,  flammeolum,  strophium,  diadema,  monile. 
his  se  Sobrietas  et  totus  Sobrietatis  450 

abstinet  exuviis  miles  damnataque  castis 
scandala  proculcat  pedibus,  nee  fronte  severos 
conivente  oculos  praedarum  ad  gaudia  flectit. 

fertur  Avaritia  gremio  praecincta  capaci, 
quidquid  Luxus  edax  pretiosum  liquerat,  unca      455 
corripuisse  manu,  pulchra  in  ludibria  vasto 
ore  inhians  aurique  legens  fragmenta  caduci 
inter  harenarum  cumulos.     nee  sufficit  amplos 
inplevisse  sinus  ;  iuvat  infercire  cruminis 
turpe  lucrum  et  gravidos  furtis  distendere  fiscos,  460 
quos  laeva  celante  tegit  laterisque  sinistri 
velat  opermento ;  velox  nam  dextra  rapinas 
abradit  spoliisque  ungues  exercet  aenos. 
Cura,  Famis,  Metus,  Anxietas,  Periuria,  Pallor, 
Corruptela,  Dolus,  Commenta,  Insomnia,  Sordes,  465 
Eumenides  variae  monstri  comitatus  aguntur. 
nee  minus  interea  rabidorum  more  luporum 
Crimina  persultant  toto  grassantia  campo, 
matris  Avaritiae  nigro  de  lacte  creata. 
si  fratris  galeam  fulvis  radiare  ceraunis  470 

germanus  vidit  conmilito,  non  timet  ensem 


310 


THE  FIGHT  FOR  MANSOUL 

unfastened,  and  jarring  Strife  disorders  her  jewels. 
Pleasure  is  content  to  go  with  injured  feet  through 
thorny  brakes,  for  superior  force  makes  her  endure 
the  painful  flight,  and  the  dread  of  danger  hardens 
her  tender  soles  to  bear  the  torture  of  the  way. 
Wherever  the  column  turns,  as  it  rushes  this  way  and 
that  in  its  agitated  flight,  lie  things  lost,  a  hairpin, 
ribbands,  fillets,  a  brooch,  a  veil,  a  breast-band,  a 
coronet,  a  necklace.  These  spoils  Soberness  and  all 
the  soldiers  of  Soberness  refrain  from  handling ;  they 
trample  under  their  chaste  feet  the  cursed  causes  of 
offence,  nor  let  their  austere  gaze  turn  a  blind  eye 
towards  the  joys  of  plunder. 

'Tis  said  that  Greed,  her  robe  arranged  to  make  a 
capacious  fold  in  front,  crooked  her  hand  and  seized 
on  ever}'  thing  of  price  that  gluttonous  Indulgence 
left  behind,  gaping  -vrith  mouth  wide  open  on  the 
pretty  baubles  as  she  picked  up  the  broken  bits  of 
gold  that  had  fallen  amid  the  heaps  of  sand.  Nor  is 
she  content  to  fill  her  roomy  pockets,  but  delights  to 
stuff  her  base  gain  in  monej^-bags  and  cram  swollen 
purses  to  bursting  ^\^th  her  pelf,  keeping  them  in 
hiding  behind  her  left  hand  under  cover  of  her  robe 
on  the  left  side,  for  her  quick  right  hand  is  busy 
scraping  up  the  plunder  and  plies  nails  hard  as  brass 
in  gathering  the  booty.  Care,  Hunger,  Fear, 
Anguish,  Perjuries,  Pallor,  Gsrruption,  Treachery, 
Falsehood,  Sleeplessness,  Meanness,  diverse  fiends, 
go  in  attendance  on  the  monster;  and  all  the 
while  Crimes,  the  brood  of  their  mother  Greed's 
black  milk,  Uke  ravening  wolves  go  prowling  and 
leaping  over  the  field.  If  a  soldier  sees  his  o^^•n 
brother  and  fellow-soldier  with  a  helmet  that  glances 
^ith  precious  stones  of  tawny  hue,  he  fears  not  to 

3" 


PRUDENTIUS 

exerere  atque  caput  socio  mucrone  ferire, 

de  consanguineo  rapturus  vertice  gemmas. 

filius  extinctum  belli  sub  sorte  cadaver 

aspexit  si  forte  patris,  fulgentia  bullis  475 

cingula  et  exuvias  gaudet  rapuisse  cruentas : 

cognatam  Civilis  agit  Discordia  praedam, 

nee  parcit  propriis  Amor  insatiatus  Habendi 

pigneribus  spoliatque  suos  Famis  inpia  natos. 

talia  per  populos  edebat  funera  victrix  480 

orbis  Avaritia,  sternens  centena  virorum 

millia  vulneribus  variis  :   hunc  lumine  adempto 

effossisque  oculis  velut  in  caligine  noctis 

caecum  errare  sinit  perque  ofFensacula  multa 

ire,  nee  oppositum  baculo  temptare  periclum.        485 

porro  alium  capit  intuitu  fallitque  videntem, 

insigne  ostentans  aliquid,  quod  dum  petit  ille, 

excipitur  telo  incautus  cordisque  sub  ipso 

saucius  occulto  ferrum  suspirat  adactum. 

multos  praecipitans  in  aperta  incendia  cogit  490 

nee  patitur  vitare  focos,  quibus  aestuat  aurum, 

quod  petit  arsurus  pariter  speculator  ^  avarus. 

omne  hominum  rapit  ilia  genus,  mortalia  cuncta 

occupat  interitu,  neque  est  violentius  ullum 

terrarum  Vitium,  quod  tantis  cladibus  aevum        495 

mundani  involvat  populi  damnetque  gehennae. 

quin  ipsos  temptare  manu,  si  credere  dignum  est, 

ausa  sacerdotes  Domini,  qui  proelia  forte 

ductores  primam  ante  aciem  pro  laude  gerebant 

Virtutum,  magnoque  inplebant  classica  flatu,        500 

et  fors  innocuo  tinxisset  sanguine  ferrum, 

^  peculator,  adopted  by  Bergtnan,  is  the  reading  of  the  6th- 
century  MS.  That  of  the  1th  and  some  others  show  speculator 
only  after  alteration. 

313 


THE  FIGHT  FOR  MANSOUL 

unsheath  his  sword  and  smite  the  skull  ^^ith  a 
comrade's  blade,  purposing  to  snatch  the  gems  from 
a  kinsman's  head.  If  a  son  chances  to  look  on  his 
father's  body  lying  Ufeless  by  the  luck  of  war,  he 
joyfully  seizes  the  belt  ^\"ith  its  shining  studs  and 
strips  off  the  blood-stained  armour.  Civil  War  makes 
plunder  of  his  kin,  the  insatiable  Love  of  Possession 
spares  not  his  own  dear  ones,  unnatural  Hunger  robs 
his  own  children.  Such  the  slaughter  that  Greed, 
the  conqueress  of  the  world,  was  deahng  among  the 
nations,  lapng  low  myriads  of  men  with  diverse 
wounds.  One,  made. sightless,  his  eyes  prised  out, 
she  leaves  to  wander  bhndly  as  in  the  darkness  of 
night  over  many  a  stumbUng-block,  nor  lets  him  test 
with  a  staff  the  danger  in  his  way.  Another,  again, 
she  captures  by  means  of  his  sight  and  cheats  him 
with  his  eyes  open  by  displaying  to  him  some  splendid 
thing,  and  in  the  act  of  reaching  for  it,  all  unheeding, 
he  is  caught  by  her  stroke  and  utters  a  sigh  at  the 
sword-thrust  that  wounds  him  in  the  very  depths 
of  his  heart.  Many  she  drives  headlong  on  to  open 
fires,  not  suffering  them  to  avoid  the  flames,  in  which 
gold  is  burning,  and  a  man  eyeing  it  greedily 
reaches  for  it  though  he  is  doomed  to  burn  ^\^th  it. 
The  whole  race  of  .men  she  seizes  upon,  all  mortahty 
she  destroys  before  it  can  help  itself.  There  is  no 
more  furious  Vice  in  the  world  to  envelop  the  life 
of  the  people  of  the  world  in  such  disaster,  condemn- 
ing them  to  hell- fire.  Nay,  she  even  dared — can  we 
beUeve  it  ?— to  raise  her  hand  against  the  very 
priests  of  the  Lord,  the  leaders  posted  before  the 
front  line,  who  were  doing  battle  for  the  credit  of 
the  Virtues  and  filHng  their  war-trumpets  with  a 
great  blast.     And  perchance  she  would  have  dipped 

3^S 


PRUDENTIUS 

ni  Ratio  armipotens,  gentis  Levitidis  una 

semper  fida  comes,  clipeum  obiectasset  et  atrae 

hostis  ab  incursu  claros  texisset  alumnos. 

stant  tuti  Rationis  ope,  stant  turbine  ab  omni      505 

inmunes  fortesque  animi ;   vix  in  cute  summa 

praestringens  paucos  tenui  de  vulnere  laedit 

cuspis  Avaritae.     stupuit  luis  inproba  castis 

heroum  iugulis  longe  sua  tela  repelli ; 

ingemit  et  dictis  ardens  furialibus  infit :  510 

"  vincimur,    heu,    segnes    nee    nostra    potentia 

perfert 
vim  solitam,  languet  violentia  saeva  nocendi, 
sueverat  invictis  quae  viribus  omnia  ubique 
rumpere  corda  hominum ;  nee  enim  tam  ferrea 

quemquam 
duravit  natura  virum,  cuius  rigor  aera  515 

sperneret  aut  nostro  foret  inpenetrabilis  auro. 
ingenium  omne  neci  dedimus ;    tenera,  aspera, 

dura, 
docta,  indocta  simul,  bruta  et  sapientia,  nee  non 
casta,  incesta  meae  patuerunt  pectora  dextrae. 
sola  igitur  rapui  quidquid  Styx  abdit  avaris  520 

gurgitibus.     nobis  ditissima  Tartara  debent 
quos   retinent  populos.     quod  volvunt  saecula 

nostrum  est, 
quod  miscet  mundus,  vesana  negotia,  nostrum, 
qui  fit  praevalidas  quod  pollens  gloria  vires 
deserit  et  cassos  ludit  fortuna  lacertos  ?  525 

sordet  Christicolis  rutilantis  fulva  monetae 
effigies,  sordent  argenti  emblemata,  et  omnis 
thensaurus  nigrante  oculis  vilescit  honore. 
quid  sibi  docta  volunt  fastidia  ?  nonne  triumphum 


314 


THE  FIGHT  FOR  MANSOUL 

her  steel  in  their  innocent  blood,  had  not  the  mighty 
warrior  Reason,  ever  before  all  the  true  comrade  of 
Levi's  race,  put  her  shield  in  the  way  and  covered 
her  famed  foster-children  from  their  deadly  foe's 
onslaught.  They  stand  in  safety  by  Reason's  aid, 
taking  no  hurt  from  all  the  tempest,  and  stout  of 
heart ;  only  a  few  did  Greed's  javeUn  touch,  grazing 
them  with  a  shght  wound  not  skin-deep.  Out- 
rageous plague  that  she  was,  she  stood  amazed  to 
see  her  weapons  turned  from  the  heroes'  pure  throats, 
and  with  a  groan  she  broke  into  raging  words  of 
passion :  "  We  are  losing  the  fight,  alas !  for  want  of 
vigour,  our  power  has  lost  its  wonted  drive,  our  fell 
strength  to  hurt  is  grown  feeble,  though  it  xised  to 
break  through  every  heart  of  man  everywhere  with 
force  unconquerable ;  for  no  man  ever  had  such  an 
iron  nature  to  harden  him  that  he  could  inflexibly 
scorn  money  or  be  proof  against  our  gold.  Every 
temper  we  have  given  over  to  death ;  hearts  tender, 
rough  and  hard,  minds  learned  and  unlearned 
alike,  stupid  and  wise,  pure  and  impure  too,  have 
been  open  to  my  hand.  It  is  I  alone  who  have 
carried  off  all  that  Styx  now  hides  away  with  his 
greedy  floods ;  it  is  to  us  the  hell  we  have  enriched 
owes  the  peoples  it  keeps  in  durance ;  the  thoughts 
of  all  generations  are  of  what  belongs  to  us,  all  the 
world's  busy  stirring  and  mad  trafficking  is  of  us. 
How  comes  it  that  the  glorious  might  deserts  our 
prevaiUng  strength  and  fortune  makes  a  mock  of  our 
feckless  arms  ?  Worthless  to  the  followers  of  Christ 
is  the  yellow  image  on  the  shining  coin,  worthless  is 
embossed  silver,  no  treasure  has  any  value  to  their 
eyes,  for  its  glory  is  clouded.  What  means  this 
new-learned  daintiness  ?    Did  not  we  triumph  over 


PRUDENTIUS 

egimus  e  Scarioth,  magnus  qui  discipulorum  530 

et  conviva  Dei,  dum  fallit  foedere  mensae 
haudquaquam  ignarum  dextramque  parabside 

iungit, 
incidit  in  nostrum  flammante  cupidine  telum, 
infamem  mercatus  agrum  de  sanguine  amici 
numinis,  obliso  luiturus  iugera  collo  ?  535 

viderat  et  lericho  propria  inter  funera  quantum 
posset  nostra  manus,  cum  victor  concidit  Achar. 
caedibus  insignis  murali  et  strage  superbus 
subcubuit  capto  victis  ex  hostibus  auro, 
dum  vetitis  insigne  legens  anathema  favillis  540 

maesta  ruinarum  spolia  insatiabilis  haurit. 
non  ilium  generosa  tribus,  non  plebis  avitae 
iuvit  luda  parens,  Christo  quandoque  propinquo 
nobilis  et  tali  felix  patriarcha  nepote. 
quis  placet  exemplum  generis,  placeat  quoque 

forma  545 

exitii :   sit  poena  eadem,  quibus  et  genus  unum 

est. 
quid  moror  aut  ludae  populares  aut  populares 
sacricolae  summi  (summus  nam  fertur  Aaron) 
fallere  fraude  aliqua  Martis  congressibus  inpar  ? 
nil  refert  armis  contingat  palma  dolisve."  550 

dixerat  et  torvam  faciem  furialiaque  arma 
exuit  inque  habitum  sese  transformat  honestum  ; 
fit  Virtus  specie  vultuque  et  veste  severa 
quam  memorant  Frugi,  parce  cui  vivere  cordi  est 
et  servare  suum ;  tamquam  nil  raptet  avare,         555 


"  Joshua  vii.  Achar  is  the  form  of  the  name  in  the  Septua- 
gint  version.  Achan  represents  the  Hebrew  here,  though 
Achar  at  1  Chronicles  ii,  7. 

316 


THE  FIGHT  FOR  MANSOUL 

Iscariot,  a  great  one  among  the  disciples  of  God,  and 
one  that  sat  at  meat  with  Him  ?  Being  false  to  Him 
(though  He  knew  all)  as  he  sat  at  his  table  and  put 
his  hand  into  the  dish  with  Him,  he  fell  upon  our 
weapon  in  the  heat  of  his  desire,  for  he  bought  a 
piece  of  land  of  ill  fame  with  the  price  of  the  blood 
of  God,  who  was  his  friend,  and  was  doomed  to  atone 
for  his  acres  vrith  a  strangled  neck.  Jericho  too  in 
the  destruction  of  its  people  saw  the  strength  of  our 
hand,  when  Achar  "  fell  in  the  midst  of  \-ictory.  For 
though  he  won  glorj'  by  the  slaughter  and  was 
exalted  by  the  overthro\ving  of  the  walls,  he  fell  a 
victim  to  the  gold  that  was  taken  from  the  beaten 
foe,  picking  up  from  the  forbidden  ashes  a  thing 
that  caught  his  eye  (but  it  was  the  accursed  thing) 
and  grasping  covetously  the  sorrowful  spoils  from  the 
ruins  of  the  city.  Neither  did  the  nobility  of  his 
tribe  avail  him,  nor  his  ancestry  deriving  from  Judah, 
a  patriarch  of  high  rank  in  that  Christ  should  one 
day  be  his  kinsman,  and  blessed  in  his  great  descen- 
dant. Those  that  choose  to  take  his  race  as  their 
pattern,  let  them  choose  also  the  form  of  his  de- 
struction ;  let  those  who  own  the  same  race  suffer  the 
same  pains.  Why  not  trick  with  some  deWce  the 
countrymen  of  Judah  or  of  the  chief  priest  (for  they 
call  Aaron  chief),  since  I  cannot  match  them  in  the 
clash  of  battle  ?  It  matters  not  whether  the  prize  of 
victor}'  comes  by  arms  or  by  guile."  With  these  words 
she  puts  off  her  grim  look  and  her  fiendish  weapons, 
and  changes  to  a  noble  bearing.  In  appearance,  ^vith 
austere  mien  and  dress,  she  becomes  the  Virtue  men 
call  Thrifty,  whose  pleasure  it  is  to  live  sparingly  and 
save  what  she  has ;  she  looks  as  if  she  never  snatched 
aught  with  greedy  hands,  and  >\-ith  her  air  of  careful- 


PRUDENTIUS 

artis  adumbratae  meruit  ceu  sedula  laudem. 

huius  se  specie  mendax  Bellona  coaptat, 

non  ut  avara  lues,  sed  Virtus  parca  putetur; 

nee  non  et  tenero  pietatis  tegmine  crines 

obtegit  anguinos,  ut  Candida  palla  latentem  560 

dissimulet  rabiem,  diroque  obtenta  furori, 

quod  rapere  et  clepere  est  avideque  abscondere 

parta, 
natorum  curam  dulci  sub  nomine  iactet. 
talibus  inludens  male  credula  corda  virorum 
fallit  imaginibus,  monstrumque  ferale  sequuntur  565 
dum  credunt  Virtutis  opus ;  capit  inpia  Erinys 
consensu  faciles  manicisque  tenacibus  artat. 
attonitis  ducibus  perturbatisque  maniplis 
nutabat  Virtutum  acies  errore  biformis 
portenti,  ignorans  quid  amicum  credat  in  illo         570 
quidve  hostile  notet :  letum  versatile  et  anceps 
lubricat  incertos  dubia  sub  imagine  visus, 
cum  subito  in  medium  frendens  Operatio  campum 
prosilit  auxilio  sociis,  pugnamque  capessit 
militiae  postrema  gradu,  sed  sola  duello  575 

inpositura  manum,  ne  quid  iam  triste  supersit. 
omne  onus  ex  umeris  reiecerat,  omnibus  ibat 
nudata  induviis  multo  et  se  fasce  levarat, 
olim  divitiis  gravibusque  oppressa  talentis, 
libera  nunc  miserando  inopum,  quos  larga  benigne  580 
foverat  efFundens  patrium  bene  prodiga  censum. 

"  The  goddess  Ma,  introduced  to  Rome  from  Cappadocia, 
was  identified  with  the  Roman  Bellona.  Her  worship,  which 
resembled  that  of  the  Magna  Mater,  was  of  a  wild,  orgiastic 
character. 


THE  FIGHT  FOR  MANSOUL 

ness  she  has  gained  repute  for  the  quality  she 
counterfeits.  With  this  \'irtue's  Ukeness  the  false 
Bellona"  equips  herself,  so  as  to  be  thought  not  a 
greedy  pest  but  a  thrifty  Virtue.  With  a  delicate 
covering  of  motherly  devotion  she  hides  her  snaky 
tresses  so  that  the  white  mantle  shall  disguise  the 
raging  that  lurks  beneath  and  screen  the  fearful 
fury,  and  so  display  her  plundering  and  thieving  and 
greedy  storing  of  her  gains  under  the  pleasing  name 
of  care  for  her  children.  With  such  semblances  she 
befools  men  and  cheats  their  too  credulous  hearts. 
They  follow  the  deadly  monster,  beUe\ing  hers  to 
be  a  Virtue's  work,  and  the  ^^icked  fiend  takes  them, 
easy,  willing  victims,  and  binds  them  with  gripping 
shackles.  Their  leaders  bewildered,  their  companies 
confounded,  the  Virtues'  line  is  faltering  ;  for  they  are 
misled  by  the  monster's  twofold  figure  and  know  not 
where  to  see  a  friend  in  her  and  where  to  mark  a 
foe.  The  deadly  creature's  changing,  double  form 
makes  their  sight  unsteady  and  dubious,  not  knowing 
what  to  make  of  her  appearance.  But  now  of  a 
sudden  Good  Works  dashes  in  anger  on  to  the  midst 
of  the  battle-groimd  to  help  her  comrades,  and  takes 
up  the  fight;  posted  last  on  the  field  is  she,  but 
destined  singly  so  to  put  her  hand  to  the  war  that 
nought  shall  remain  to  be  feared.''  Every  load  she 
had  cast  off  from  her  shoulders,  and  she  moved 
along  stripped  of  all  coverings ;  of  many  a  burden 
had  she  Hghtened  herself,  for  once  she  had  been 
borne  down  by  riches  and  the  weight  of  money, 
but  now  had  freed  herself  by  taking  pity  on  the 
needy,  whom  she  had  cared  for  with  kindly 
generosity,  lavishing   her   patrimony   with    a   wise 

»  Cf.  Matthew  xix,  20-21. 


PRUDENTIUS 

iam  loculos  ditata  fidem  *  spectabat  inanes, 

aeternam  numerans  redituro  faenore  summam, 

horruit  invictae  Virtutis  fulmen  et  inpos 

mentis  Avaritia  stupefactis  sensibus  haesit  585 

certa  mori :  nam  quae  fraudis  via  restet,  ut  ipsa 

calcatrix  mundi  mundanis  victa  fatiscat 

inlecebris  spretoque  iterum  sese  inplicet  auro  ? 

invadit  trepidam  Virtus  fortissima  duris 

ulnarum  nodis,  obliso  et  gutture  frangit  590 

exsanguem  siccamque   gulam;    conpressa 

ligantur 
vincla  lacertorum  sub  mentum  et  faucibus  artis 
extorquent  animam,  nullo  quae  vulnere  rapta 
palpitat  atque  aditu  spiraminis  intercepto 
inelusam  patitur  venarum  carcere  mortem.  595 

ilia  reluctant!  genibusque  et  calcibus  instans 
perfodit  et  costas  atque  iUa  rumpit  anhela, 
mox  spolia  exstincto  de  corpore  diripit;    auri 
sordida  frusta  rudis  nee  adhuc  fornace  recoctam 
materiam,  tineis  etiam  marsuppia  crebris  600 

exesa  et  virides  obducta  aerugine  nummos 
dispergit  servata  diu  victrix  et  egenis 
dissipat  ac  tenues  captivo  munere  donat. 
tunc  circumfusam  vultu  exultante  coronam 
respiciens  alacris  media  inter  milia  clamat :  605 

"  solvite  procinctum,  iusti,  et  discedite  ab  armis! 
causa  mali  tanti  iacet  interfecta ;   lucrandi 
ingluvie  pereunte  licet  requiescere  Sanctis, 
summa  quies  nil  velle  super  quam  postulet  usus 
debitus,  ut  simplex  alimonia,  vestis  et  una  610 

^  The  Ith-century  MS.  and  others  have  fide. 

»  Cf.  Revelation  iii,  18. 
320 


THE  FIGHT  FOR  MANSOUL 

prodigality.  And  now,  enriched  in  faith,  she  was 
looking  at  her  empty  purse  and  reckoning  the 
sum  of  her  eternal  wealth  >\'ith  the  interest  that 
would  accrue.  Like  a  thunderbolt  to  Avarice  was 
the  sight  of  the  invincible  Virtue.  Cold  with  terror, 
no  longer  mistress  of  herself,  her  senses  benumbed, 
she  could  not  move,  and  knew  her  doom  had  come. 
For  what  method  of  trickery  would  be  left,  whereby 
she  who  had  already  trampled  on  the  world  should 
faint  under  worldly  temptations  and  once  again 
entangle  herself  with  the  gold  she  had  scorned  ?  As 
she  stands  thus  in  consternation  the  brave  Virtue 
sets  upon  her  with  the  iron  grip  of  her  arms  and 
strangles  her,  crushing  the  blood  out  of  her  throat  till 
it  is  dry.  Her  arms,  pressed  tight  like  bands  be- 
neath the  chin,  squeeze  the  gorge  and  wrest  the  Ufe 
away ;  no  wound  ravishes  it  in  the  agony  of  death ; 
the  breath-passage  stopped,  it  suffers  its  end  shut 
up  in  the  prison  of  the  body.  As  she  struggles,  the 
victor  presses  hard  on  her  with  knee  and  foot,  stabs 
her  through  the  ribs  and  pierces  the  heaving  flanks. 
Then  from  the  dead  body  she  takes  the  spoils. 
Dirty  bits  of  un\vrought  gold,  stuff  not  yet  purified  in 
the  furnace,"  worm-eaten  money-bags,  coins  green 
with  rust,  things  long  hoarded,  the  conqueress 
scatters,  distributing  them  to  the  needy,  giving  gifts 
to  the  poor  of  what  she  has  taken.  Then  with  a 
look  of  exultation  she  turns  her  eyes  on  the  ring 
around  her  and  eagerly  calls  out  amid  the  thousands  : 
"  Doff  your  armour,  ye  upright,  and  lay  your  weapons 
aside.  The  cause  of  all  our  ill  Ues  slain.  Now  that 
the  lust  of  gain  is  dead,  the  pure  may  rest.  'Tis  the 
deepest  rest  to  ^nsh  for  nought  beyond  what  due 
need  calls  for,  simple  fare  and  one  garment  to  cover 

321 

VOL.  I.  V 


PRUDENTIUS 

infirmos  tegat  ac  recreet  mediocriter  artus 
expletumque  modum  naturae  non  trahat  extra, 
ingressurus  iter  perani  ne  tollito,  neve 
de  tunicae  alterius  gestamine  providus  ito, 
nee  te  sollicitet  res  crastina,  ne  cibus  alvo  615 

defuerit:   redeunt  escae  cum  sole  diurnae. 
nonne  vides  ut  nulla  avium  eras  cogitet  ac  se 
pascendam,  praestante  Deo,  non  anxia  credat  ? 
confidunt  volucres  victum  non  defore  viles, 
passeribusque  subest  modico  venalibus  asse  620 

indubitata  fides  Dominum  curare  potentem 
ne  pereant.     tu,  cura  Dei,  facies  quoque  Christi, 
addubitas  ne  te  tuus  umquam  deserat  auctor? 
ne  trepidate,  homines ;  vitae  dator  et  dator  escae 

est. 
quaerite  luciferum  caelesti  dogmate  pastum,         625 
qui  spem  multipUcans  alat  invitiabilis  aevi, 
corporis  inmemores  :  memor  est  qui  condidit  illud 
subpeditare  cibos  atque  indiga  membra  fovere." 
his  dictis  curae  emotae,  Metus  et  Labor  et  Vis 
et  Scelus  et  placitae  fidei  Fraus  infitiatrix  630 

depulsae  vertere  solum.     Pax  inde  fugatis 
hostibus  alma  abigit  bellum,  discingitur  omnis 
terror  et  avulsis  exfibulat  ilia  zonis. 
vestis  ad  usque  pedes  descendens  defluit  imos, 
temperat  et  rapidum  privata  modestia  gressum.    635 
cornicinum  curva  aera  silent,  placabilis  inplet 
vaginam  gladius,  sedato  et  pulvere  campi 
suda  redit  facies  liquidae  sine  nube  diei, 
purpuream  videas  caeli  clarescere  lucem. 


«  CJ.  Matthew  vi,  26-34;  x,  9-10,  29. 
322 


THE  FIGHT  FOR   MANSOUL 

and  refresh  our  weak  bodies  in  moderation,  and 
•when  nature's  measure  is  satisfied,  draw  us  on  no 
farther.  When  thou  art  going  on  a  journey,  carry- 
no  wallet,  nor  take  thought,  when  thou  goest,  for 
another  tunic  to  wear.  And  be  not  anxious  about 
the  morrow,  lest  thy  belly  lack  food ;  bread  for  the 
day  comes  duly  with  the  sun.  Seest  thou  not  how 
no  bird  thinks  of  tomorrow,  but  rests  untroubled  in 
the  faith  that  it  will  be  fed  by  God's  provision  ?  The 
fowls  of  the  air,  which  are  so  cheap,  trust  that  food 
will  not  fail ;  the  sparrows  which  are  sold  for  a 
humble  farthing  have  a  sure  and  certain  faith  that 
the  mighty  Lord  cares  for  them,  that  they  perish  not. 
And  thou,  who  art  God's  care  and  the  image  of  Christ, 
dost  thou  fear  thy  creator  will  ever  desert  thee  ?  Be 
not  anxious,  O  men !  He  who  gives  Ufe  gives 
food  also.  Seek  ye  in  heavenly  teaching  the  food 
that  brings  hght  and  that  shall  nourish  and  enlarge 
the  hope  of  a  Ufe  incorruptible,  forgetting  the  body. 
He  who  made  it  is  mindful  to  furnish  it  with  food  and 
to  care  for  the  needs  of  its  members."  " 

At  these  words  their  troubles  departed.  Fear  and 
Suffering  and  \'iolence.  Crime  and  Fraud  that  denies 
accepted  faith,  were  driven  away  and  fled  from  the 
land.  Then  kindly  Peace,  her  enemies  now  routed, 
banishes  war.  All  the  dread-inspiring  gear  is 
doffed;  they  unclasp  their  sides,  pulhng  off  their 
belts ;  their  robes  fall  flovWng  down  to  their  feet  and 
a  civilian  sobriety  moderates  their  quick  step.  The 
trumpeters'  curved  brasses  are  silent,  the  sword 
returns  in  peace  to  its  scabbard,  the  dust  settles 
down  on  the  field,  the  bright  face  of  clear  cloudless 
day  comes  back,  and  light  from  heaven  begins  to 
shine    resplendent    to    the    view.     The    squadrons, 

323 


PRUDENTIUS 

agmina  casta  super  vultum  sensere  Tonantis        640 
adridere  hilares  pulso  certamine  turmae, 
et  Christum  gaudere  suis  victoribus  arce 
aetheris  ac  patrium  famulis  aperire  profundum. 
dat  signum  felix  Concordia  reddere  castris 
victrices  aquilas  atque  in  tentoria  cogi.  645 

numquam  tanta  fuit  species  nee  par  decus  ulli 
militiae,  cum  dispositis  bifida  agmina  longe 
duceret  ordinibus  peditum  psallente  caterva, 
ast  alia  de  parte  equitum  resonantibus  hymnis. 
non  aliter  cecinit  respectans  victor  hiantem  650 

Istrahel  rabiem  ponti  post  terga  minacis, 
cum  iam  progrediens  calcaret  litora  sicco 
ulteriora  pede,  stridensque  per  extima  calcis 
mons  rueret  pendentis  aquae  nigrosque  relapso 
gurgite  Nilicolas  fundo  deprenderet  imo,  €55 

ac  refluente  sinu  iam  redderet  unda  natatum 
piscibus  et  nudas  praeceps  operiret  harenas. 
pulsavit  resono  modulantia  tympana  plectro 
turba  Dei  celebrans  mirum  ac  memorabile  saeclis 
omnipotentis  opus,  liquidas  inter  freta  ripas         660 
fluctibus  incisis  et  subsistente  procella 
crescere  suspensosque  globos  potuisse  teneri. 
sic  expugnata  Vitiorum  gente  resultant 
mystica  dulcimodis  Virtutum  carmina  psalmis. 
ventum  erat  ad  fauces  portae  castrensis,  ubi 
artum  665 

liminis  introitum  bifori  dant  cardine  claustra. 
nascitur  hie  inopina  Mali  lacrimabilis  astu 
tempestas,  placidae  turbatrix  invida  Pacis, 


"  Cf.  Revelation  iii,  21. 
*  Cf.  Exodus  XV,  1-21. 

324 


i 


THE  FIGHT  FOR  MANSOUL 

gladdened  by  the  ending  of  contention,  see  the  face 
of  the  Thunderer  smiling  on  their  unstained  forces 
from  above,  and  Christ  in  the  height  rejoicing  in  the 
victory  of  his  followers  and  opening  for  his  sen'ants 
his  Father's  home  in  the  deep  of  heaven."  In 
happiness  Concord  gives  the  signal  to  take  the 
■victorious  standards  back  to  camp  and  return  to 
their  tents.  Never  did  army  look  so  fine,  so  glorious, 
as  she  led  her  troops  in  double  column  with  ranks  in 
long  array,  the  regiment  of  foot  singing  as  they 
marched,  while  on  the  other  side  rang  out  the  horse- 
men's hymns.  Just  so  sang  \ictorious  Israel,  looking 
back  on  the  yawning  gulf  of  the  sea  that  raged 
menacingly  behind  them,  when  now  in  their  onward 
march  they  were  treading  the  further  shore  drj'-foot, 
as  the  hanging  mountain  of  water  crashed  down 
hissing  at  their  ven,'  heels  and  the  flood  falling  back 
caught  in  the  depths  the  dark-skinned  people  of  the 
Nile,  letting  the  fish  svrim  again  in  the  hollow  as  it 
filled,  and  with  a  rush  covered  the  sand  that  had 
been  bared.  God's  company  beat  loud  the  rhythmic 
timbrels  to  celebrate  the  marvellous  work  of  the 
Almighty,  a  work  to  be  told  to  all  generations,  how 
banks  of  water  were  able  to  rise  up  with  sea  on 
either  hand,  cutting  a  path  through  the  waves 
while  the  ■wind  stayed,  and  the  masses  to  be  held 
poised  on  either  side.*  So  when  the  race  of  Vices 
was  subdued  the  Virtues'  holy  songs  rang  out  in 
sweet,  melodious  psalms. 

They  had  reached  the  pass  of  the  camp-gate, 
where  the  double-doored  barrier  s«-ings  open  to 
afford  a  narrow  way  of  entrance ;  and  here  arises  a 
storm  unlooked  for,  through  the  cunning  of  a  woeful 
Evil,  to  spite  and  trouble  calm  Peace  and  disturb 

325 


PRUDENTIUS 

quae  tantum  sufcita  vexaret  clade  triumphum. 

inter  eonfertos  cuneos  Concordia  forte  670 

dum  stipata  pedem  iam  tutis  moenibus  infert, 

excipit  occultum  Vitii  latitantis  ab  ictu 

mucronem  laevo  in  latere,  squalentia  quamvis 

texta  catenato  ferri  subtegmine  corpus 

ambirent  sutis  et  acumen  vulneris  hamis  675 

respuerent,  rigidis  nee  fila  tenacia  nodis 

inpactum  sinerent  penetrare  in  viscera  teliun. 

rara  tamen  chalybem  tenui  transmittere  puncto 

commissura  dedit,  qua  sese  extrema  politae 

squama  ligat  tunicae  sinus  et  sibi  consent  oras.    680 

intulit  hoc  vulnus  pugnatrix  subdola  victae 

partis  et  incautis  victoribus  insidiata  est. 

nam  pulsa  Culparum  acie  Discordia  nostros 

intrarat  cuneos  sociam  mentita  figuram. 

scissa  procul  palla  structum  et  serpente  flagellum  685 

multiplici  media  camporum  in  strage  iacebant. 

ipsa  redimitos  olea  frondente  capillos 

ostentans  festis  respondet  laeta  choreis. 

sed  sicam  sub  veste  tegit,  te,  maxima  ^'irtus, 

te  solam  tanto  e  numero,  Concordia,  tristi  690 

fraude  petens.     sed  non  vitalia  rumpere  sacri 

corporis  est  licitum,  summo  tenus  extima  tactu 

laesa  cutis  tenuem  signavit  sanguine  rivum. 

exclamat  Virtus  subito  turbata  :   "  quid  hoc  est? 

quae  manus  hie  inimica  latet,   quae  prospera 

nostra  695 

vulnerat  et  ferrum  tanta  inter  gaudia  vibrat  ? 
quid  iuvat  indomitos  bello  sedasse  Furores  1 

et  sanctum  Vitiis  pereuntibus  omne  receptum, 
326 


THE  FIGHT  FOR   MANSOUL 

the  great  triumph  w-ith  a  sudden  disaster.  Concord, 
thronged  in  the  press  of  close-packed  companies,  just 
as  she  is  setting  foot  ^^*ithin  the  safety  of  the  ram- 
parts, receives  a  treacherous  thrust  in  her  left  side 
from  the  stroke  of  a  lurking  Vice,  albeit  the  stiff 
fabric  of  iron  chain-mail  covered  her  body  and  ^\•ith 
its  links  repelled  the  deadly  point,  and  the  firm, 
hard-knotted  strands  did  not  suffer  the  weight  of  the 
blow  to  reach  the  flesh;  yet  an  open  joint  let  the 
steel  pass  through  \Wth  a  slight  prick,  just  where  the 
last  scale  is  fastened  to  the  bright  cuirass  and  the 
breast-piece  connected  with  the  skirt.  Such  the 
wound  that  the  crafty  defender  of  the  beaten  side 
inflicted,  lying  in  wait  to  take  the  \actors  off  their 
guard.  For,  when  the  Mces'  army  was  driven  off, 
Discord  had  entered  our  ranks  wearing  the  counter- 
feit shape  of  a  friend.  Her  torn  mantle  and  her 
whip  of  many  snakes  Avere  left  Iving  far  behind  amid 
the  heaps  of  dead  on  the  field  of  battle,  while  she 
herself,  displaying  her  hair  wreathed  with  leafy 
ohve,  answered  cheerfully  the  joyous  revellers.  But 
she  has  a  dagger  hidden  under  her  raiment,  seeking 
to  attack  thee,  thou  greatest  of  Virtues,  thee  alone, 
Concord,  of  all  this  number,  A\-ith  bitter  treachery. 
Yet  was  she  not  permitted  to  pierce  the  vital  parts 
of  thy  sacred  body ;  only  the  skin  was  hurt  \A-ith  a 
mere  touch  on  the  surface,  and  showed  the  mark  of 
but  a  slight  stream  of  blood.  "  \\Tiat  means  this?  " 
cries  the  Virtue,  thus  unexpectedly  disturbed. 
"  WTiat  enemy's  hand  is  hidden  here,  that  stabs  our 
victor}'  and  launches  its  weapon  amid  our  great  re- 
joicing ?  What  boots  it  by  war  to  have  reduced  the 
ungovernable  Passions  and  brought  the  good  back 
without  loss,  while  the  Vices  perished,  if  a  Virtue 

327 


PRUDENTIUS 

si    Virtus    sub    pace    cadit?"    trepida    agmina 

maestos 
convertere  oculos  :  stillabat  vulneris  index  700 

ferrata  de  veste  cruor,  mox  et  pavor  hostem 
comminus  adstantem  prodit ;   nam  pallor  in  ore 
conscius  audacis  facti  dat  signa  reatus 
et  deprensa  tremunt  languens  manus  et  color 

albens. 
circumstat  propere  strictis  mucronibus  omnis         705 
Virtutum  legio  exquirens  fervente  tumultu 
et  genus  et  nomen,  patriam  sectamque,  Deumque 
quern  colat  et  missu  cuiatis  venerit.     ilia 
exsanguis  turbante  metu  :   "  Discordia  dicor, 
cognomento  Heresis ;    Deus  est  mihi  discolor," 

inquit,  710 

*'  nunc  minor,  aut  maior,  modo  duplex  et  modo 

simplex, 
cum  placet,  aerius  et  de  phantasmate  visus, 
aut  innata  anima  est  quoties  volo  ludere  numen ; 
praeceptor  Bella  mihi,  domus  et  plaga  mundus." 
non  tulit  ulterius  capti  blasphemia  monstri  715 

Virtutum  regina  Fides,  sed  verba  loquentis 
inpedit  et  vocis  claudit  spiramina  pilo, 
pollutam  rigida  transfigens  cuspide  linguam. 
carpitur  innumeris  feralis  bestia  dextris ; 
frustatim  sibi  quisque    rapit  quod    spargat    in 

auras,  720 

quod  canibus  donet,  corvis  quod  edacibus  ultro 
ofFerat,  inmundis  caeno  exhalante  cloacis 
quod    trudat,    monstris    quod    mandet    habere 

marinis. 
discissum  foedis  animalibus  omne  cadaver 
dividitur,  ruptis  Heresis  perit  horrida  membris.    725 

338 


THE  FIGHT  FOR   MANSOUL 

falls  in  time  of  peace?  "  The  ranks  in  alarm  turned 
sorroAsing  eyes  upon  her,  and  there  was  the  tell-tale 
blood  dripping  from  the  armoured  coat !  Then  fear 
betrays  the  foe  as  she  stands  close  by,  for  the  pallid 
cheek  shows  consciousness  of  the  outrage  and  gives 
proof  of  guilt,  and  the  limp  hand  and  white  face 
tremble  at  discover}'.  Quickly  with  drawn  swords 
the  whole  army  of  the  Virtues  surrounds  her,  asking 
in  an  uproar  of  excitement  her  race  and  name,  her 
country  and  her  faith,  what  God  she  worships,  of 
what  nation  he  that  sent  her.  And  she,  all  pale 
with  upsetting  fear,  says  :  "  I  am  called  Discord,  and 
my  other  name  is  Heresy.  The  God  I  have  is  variable, 
now  lesser,  now  greater,  now  double,  now  single ; 
when  I  please,  he  Is  unsubstantial,  a  mere  apparition, 
or  again  the  soul  ■within  us,  when  I  choose  to  make 
a  mock  of  his  divinity."  My  teacher  is  BeUal,  my 
home  and  country  the  world."  No  further  did 
Faith,  the  Virtues'  queen,  bear  with  the  outrageous 
prisoner's  blasphemies,  but  stopped  her  speech  and 
blocked  the  passage  of  her  voice  with  a  javelin, 
dri\ing  its  hard  point  through  the  foul  tongue. 
Countless  hands  tear  the  deadly  beast  in  pieces,  each 
seizing  bits  to  scatter  to  the  breezes,  or  throw  to  the 
dogs,  or  proffer  to  the  devouring  carrion  crows,  or 
thrust  into  the  foul,  stinking  sewers,  or  give  to  the 
sea-monsters  for  their  own.  The  whole  corpse  is 
torn  asunder  and  parcelled  out  to  unclean  creatures ; 
so  perishes  frightful  Heresy,  rent  limb  from  limb. 

"  These  expressions  indicate  heretical  beliefs  with  which 
Prudentius  deals  in  the  Apotheosis  and  Hamartigenia.  Cf. 
Apoth.  255  ff.  (minor,  maior).  Ham.  1-16,  etc.  (duplex), 
Apoth.  178  ff.  (simplex),  952  ff.  (phantasma).  Innaia  anima 
seems  to  refer  to  the  doctrine  treated  at  Apoth.  820  S.,  that 
the  soul  is  a  verj'  part  of  God. 

329 
m2 


PRUDENTIUS 

conpositis  igitur  rerum  morumque  secundis 
in  commune  bonis,  postquam  ^  intra  tuta  morari 
contigit  ac  statione  frui  valloque  foveri 
pacificos  Sensus,  et  in  otia  solvere  curas,^ 
exstruitur  media  eastrorum  sede  tribunal  730 

editiore  loco,  tumulus  quern  vertice  acuto 
excitat  in  speculam,  subiecta  unde  omnia  late 
liber  inofFenso  circum  inspicit  aere  visus. 
hunc  sincera  Fides  simul  et  Concordia,  sacro 
foedere  iuratae  Christi  sub  amore  sorores,  735 

conscendunt  apicem ;   mox  et  sublime  tribunal 
par  sanctum  carunaque  sibi  supereminet  aequo 
iure  potestatis,  consistunt  aggere  summo 
conspicuae  populosque  iubent  adstare  frequentes. 
concurrunt  alacres  castris  ex  omnibus  omnes,        740 
nulla  latet  pars  Mentis  iners,  quae  corporis  ullo 
intercepta  sinu  per  conceptacula  sese 
degeneri  languore  tegat,  tentoria  apertis 
cuncta  patent  velis,  reserantur  carbasa,  ne  quis 
marceat  obscuro  stertens  habitator  operto.  745 

auribus  intentis  expectant  contio,  quidnam 
victores  post  bella  vocet  Concordia  princeps, 
quam  velit  atque  Fides  Virtutibus  addere  legem, 
erumpit  prima  in  vocem  Concordia  tali 
adloquio  :   "  cumulata  quidem  iam  gloria  vobis,     750 
o  Patris,  o  Domini  fidissima  pignera  Christi, 
contigit :    extincta  est  multo  certamine  saeva 
barbaries,  sanctae  quae  circumsaepserat  urbis 
indigenas,  ferroque  viros  flammaque  premebat. 

'  The  Qth-century  MS.  A  and  some  others  have 

in  commune  bonis,  tranquillae  plebis  ad  unum 
sensibus  in  tuta  valli  statione  locatis 
exstruitur,  etc. 

The  Ith-centiiry  MS.  is  not  available  for  lines  668-892. 

33° 


THE  FIGHT  FOR   MANSOUL 

So  now  that  a  fair  and  happy  state  of  circumstance 
and  life  has  been  established  over  all,  now  "  that  the 
peaceable  Sentiments  can  dwell  in  security  under  the 
protection  of  guard-post  and  rampart,  and  find  relief 
in  relaxation  of  their  cares,*  a  platform  is  set  up  at 
the  midmost  point  of  the  camp  on  an  elevated  ground, 
a .  peak-topped  hillock  rising  to  make  a  look-out 
whence  the  eye  can  freely  range  afar  on  every  side 
without  obstruction.  To  this  projection  mounts 
honest  Faith  and,  with  her.  Concord,  sisters  sworn 
in  holy  alUance  in  the  love  of  Christ.  Then  the 
sacred  pair,  dear  to  each  other,  take  their  stand 
together  towering  above  the  lofty  platform,  for 
their  authority  is  equal ;  and  from  their  prominent 
place  on  the  sunr.mit  of  the  rising  ground  they  bid 
the  people  attend  them  in  their  numbers.  All 
assemble  briskly  from  the  whole  camp.  No  member 
of  Soul  lurks  in  idleness,  shut  off  in  a  pocket  of  the 
body  and  lying  close  in  some  retreat  in  ignoble 
sloth.  All  tents  stand  exposed,  their  curtains 
drawn  back,  the  canvas  open,  so  that  no  dweller 
therein  shall  he  lazily  asleep  in  undiscovered  secrecy. 
With  ears  alert  the  assemblage  waits  to  hear  for  what 
cause  its  leader  Concord  summons  the  victors  now 
that  war  is  over,  or  what  new  rule  Faith  will  lay  on 
the  Virtues.  Concord  first  breaks  into  speech  viith 
these  words :  "  Abundant  glory  has  come  to  you,  ye 
faithful  children  of  the  Father  and  of  Christ  our  Lord. 
With  a  great  struggle  have  you  wiped  out  the  cruel 
savages  that  had  beset  the  dwellers  in  the  holy  city 
round  about  "with  hard  pressure  of  fire  and  sword. 

•  With  the  text  of  A  etc.  "  now  that  the  folk  is  at  peace 
and  every  Sentiment,  down  to  the  last,  settled  safely  behind 
the  protection  of  the  rampart." 

331 


PRUDENTIUS 

publica  sed  requies  privatis  rure  foroque  755 

constat  amicitiis :   scissura  domestica  turbat 

rem  populi,  titubatque  foris  quod  dissidet  intus. 

ergo  cavete,  viri,  ne  sit  sententia  discors 

Sensibus  in  nostris,  ne  secta  exotica  tectis 

nascatur  conflata  odiis,  quia  fissa  voluntas  760 

confundit  variis  arcana  biformia  fibris. 

quod  sapimus  coniungat  amor ;  quod  vivimus  uno 

conspiret  studio :   nil  dissociabile  firmum  est. 

utque  homini  atque  Deo  medius  intervenit  lesus, 

qui  sociat  mortale  Patri,  ne  carnea  distent  765 

Spiritui  aeterno  sitque  ut  Deus  unus  utrumque, 

sic,  quidquid  gerimus  mentisque  et  corporis  actu, 

spiritus  unimodis  texat  conpagibus  unus. 

pax  plenum  Virtutis  opus,  pax  summa  laborum, 

pax  belli  exacti  pretium  est  pretiumque  pericli.     770 

sidera  pace  vigent,  consistunt  terrea  pace. 

nil  placitum  sine  pace  Deo  :  non  munus  ad  aram 

cum  cupias  offerre  probat,  si  turbida  fratrem 

mens  inpacati  sub  pectoris  oderit  antro, 

nee,  si  flammicomis  Christi  pro  nomine  martyr     775 

ignibus  insilias  servans  inamabile  votum 

bile  sub  obliqua,  pretiosara  proderit  lesu 

inpendisse  animam,  meriti  quia  clausula  pax  est. 

non  inflata  tumet,  non  invidet  aemula  fratri, 

omnia  perpetitur  patiens  atque  omnia  credit,        780 

nunquam  laesa  dolet,  cuncta  ofFensacula  donat, 

332 


THE  FIGHT  FOR   MANSOUL 

But  the  nation's  peace  depends  on  good  will  between 
its  citizens  in  field  and  town.  Division  at  home 
upsets  the  common  weal  and  difference  within  means 
faltering  abroad.  Therefore  be  on  the  watch,  my 
soldiers,  that  there  be  no  discordant  thought  among 
our  Sentiments,  that  no  foreign  faction  arise  in  us 
from  the  occasion  of  hidden  quarrels ;  for  a  divided 
will  creates  disorder  in  our  inmost  nature,  making 
two  parties  in  a  heart  at  variance.  Let  our  under- 
standing be  united  by  love,  our  life  be  in  accord  in  a 
single  aim ;  where  there  is  separation  there  is  no 
strength.  And  just  as  Jesus  mediates  between  man 
and  God,  uniting  mortality  with  the  Father  so  that 
the  fleshly  shall  not  be  separated  from  the  eternal 
Spirit  and  that  one  God  shall  be  both,  so  let  one 
spirit  shape  in  single  structure  all  that  we  do  by 
action  of  soul  and  body.  Peace  is  the  fulfilment  of  a 
Virtue's  work,  peace  the  sum  and  substance  of  her 
toils,  peace  the  reward  for  war  now  ended  and  for 
peril  faced.  It  is  by  peace  that  the  stars  live  and 
move,  by  peace  that  earthly  things  stand  firm. 
Without  peace  nothing  is  pleasing  to  God.  When 
thou  desirest  to  offer  a  gift  at  the  altar,  it  is  not 
acceptable  to  Him  if  thy  soul  is  angry  and  hates  thy 
brother  in  the  depths  of  a  heart  unreconciled ;  and 
if  in  martyrdom  for  the  name  of  Christ  thou  shouldst 
leap  into  the  fire  with  its  tresses  of  flame,  while  from 
spiteful  A\Tath  thou  dost  still  keep  some  uncharitable 
desire,  it  ^vi\\  not  profit  thee  to  have  sacrificed  thy 
precious  life  to  Jesus,  for  it  is  peace  that  is  the  per- 
fection of  merit.  It  is  not  puffed  up  with  pride,  it 
feels  no  jealous  envy  of  a  brother;  it  endures  all 
things  with  long-suffering,  believes  all  things.  It 
bears    wrong    without    resentment,    it    forgives    all 

233 


PRUDENTIUS 

occasum  lucis  venia  praecurrere  gestit, 
anxia  ne  stabilem  linquat  sol  conscius  iram. 
quisque  litare  Deo  mactatis  vult  holocaustis, 
ofFerat  in  primis  pacexn  :   nulla  hostia  Christo         785 
dulcior :   hoc  solo  sancta  ad  donaria  vultum 
munere  convertens  liquido  ^  oblectatur  odore. 
sed  tamen  et  niveis  tradit  Deus  ipse  columbis 
pinnatum  tenera  plumarum  veste  colubrum 
rimante  ingenio  docte  internoscere  mixtum         790 
innocuis  avibus ;   latet  et  lupus  ore  cruento 
lacteolam  mentitus  ovem  sub  vellere  molli, 
cruda  per  agninos  exercens  funera  rictus. 
hac  sese  occultat  Photinus  et  Arrius  arte, 
inmanes  feritate  lupi.     discrimina  produnt  795 

nostra  recensque  cruor,  quamvis  de  corpore  summo, 
quid    possit    furtiva    manus."     gemitum    dedit 

omnis 
Virtutum  populus  casu  concussus  acerbo. 
turn    generosa    Fides    haec    subdidit :     "  immo 

secundis 
in  rebus  cesset  gemitus.     Concordia  laesa  est,      800 
sed  defensa  Fides :   quin  et  Concordia  sospes, 
germanam  comitata  Fidem,  sua  vulnera  ridet. 
haec  mea  sola  salus,  nihil  hac  mihi  triste  recepta. 
unum  opus  egregio  restat  post  bella  labori, 
o  proceres,  regni  quod  tandem  pacifer  heres  805 

belligeri,  armatae  successor  inermus  et  aulae, 
instituit  Solomon,  quoniam  genitoris  anheh 
fumarat  calido  regum  de  sanguine  dextra. 

^  puro  in  the  Qth-century  MS. 

"  Both  taught  heretical  doctrines  with  regard  to  the  Trinity. 
The  name  of  the  latter  is  more  familiar  as  Arius. 

334 


THE  FIGHT  FOR   MANSOUL 

offences ;  it  is  eager  to  pardon  before  daylight  sinks, 
uneasy  lest  the  conscious  sun  leave  behind  it  an  en- 
during anger.  Whosoever  would  worship  God 
acceptably  with  whole  burnt  offerings,  let  him  above 
all  offer  peace.  No  sacrifice  is  sweeter  to  Christ ; 
it  is  this  gift  alone  that  pleases  Him  with  a  pure 
aroma  when  He  turns  his  face  towards  the  holy  altar. 
Yet  God  himself  gives  the  snow-white  doves  the 
skill  to  know,  with  sense  that  looks  beneath  the 
surface,  the  winged  snake  in  its  dress  of  soft,  downy 
feathers,  when  it  mingles  ^\•ith  the  harmless  birds. 
The  wolf,  too,  A^th  his  gor}'  jaws,  conceals  himself 
in  a  soft  fleece,  counterfeiting  a  milk-white  sheep, 
while  he  carries  on  his  bloodv  murders  by  devouring 
the  lambs.  It  is  by  this  device  that  Photinus  and 
Arrius  "  disguise  themselves,  those  wolves  so  wild 
and  savage.  This  danger  to  me,  and  this  fresh 
bleeding,  superficial  though  it  be,  show  what  a 
stealthy  hand  can  do."  A  cry  of  sorrow  arose  from 
all  the  nation  of  the  Virtues  in  their  agitation  at  the 
grievous  mischance.  Then  noble  Faith  added  these 
words:  "  Nay,  let  there  be  no  crj-  of  sorrow  in  our 
hour  of  Aactory.  Concord  has  been  hurt,  but  Faith 
defended.  Indeed  Concord  has  been  saved,  and 
standing  by  her  sister  Faith,  laughs  at  her  wounds. 
She  is  my  sole  salvation ;  with  her  rescue  there  is 
nought  to  cast  me  down.  One  task  alone,  ye  cap- 
tains, now  that  war  is  over,  remains  for  a  noble 
effort  to  perform ;  the  task  that  Solomon,  the 
peaceful  heir  of  a  warlike  throne,  the  unarmed 
successor  to  an  armed  court,  set  on  foot,  since  his 
father  panted  from  the  slaughter  and  his  hand 
reeked  of  the  warm  blood  of  kings.*     For  it  is  when 

^  C/.  1  Chronicles  xxviii,  2-3 ;  1  Kings  v,  2-5. 

335 


PRUDENTIUS 

sanguine  nam  terso  templum  fundatur  et  ara 
ponitur  auratis  Christi  domus  ardua  tectis.  810 

tunc  Hierusalem  templo  inlustrata  quietum 
suscepit  iam  diva  Deum,  circumvaga  postquam 
sedit  marmoreis  fundata  altaribus  area, 
surgat  et  in  nostris  templum  venerabile  castris, 
omnipotens  cuius  sanctorum  sancta  revisat.  815 

nam  quid  terrigenas  ferro  pepulisse  phalangas 
Culparum  prodest,  hominis  si  Filius  area 
aetheris  inlapsus  purgati  corporis  urbem 
intret  inornatam  templi  splendentis  egenus  ? 
hactenus  alternis  sudatum  est  comminus  armis :   820 
munia  nunc  agitet  tacitae  toga  Candida  pacis, 
atque  sacris  sedem  properet  discincta  iuventus." 
haec  ubi  dicta  dedit,  gradibus  regina  superbis 
de^luit  tantique  operis  Concordia  consors 
metatura  novum  iacto  fundamine  templum.  825 

aurea  planitiem  spatiis  percurrit  harundo 
dimensis,  quadrant  ut  quattuor  undique  frontas, 
na  commissuris  distantibus  angulus  inpar 
argutam  mutilet  per  dissona  semetra  normam. 
Aurorae  de  parte  tribus  plaga  lucida  portis  830 

inlustrata  patet,  triplex  aperitur  ad  austrum 
portarum  numerus,  tris  occiduaUbus  ofFert 
ianua  trina  fores,  totiens  aquilonis  ad  axem 
panditur    alta    domus.     nullum    illic    structile 

saxum, 
sed  cava  per  solidum  multoque  forata  dolatu        835 
gemma  relucenti  limen  conplectitur  arcu, 
vestibulumque  lapis  penetrabile  concipit  unus. 
portarum  summis  inscripta  in  postibus  auro 

"  Cf.  Revelation  xxi,  15.  In  what  follows,  Prudentius 
draws  many  details  from  the  description  of  the  New  Jerusalem 
in  that  chapter. 


THE  FIGHT  FOR   MANSOUL 

blood  is  cleansed  that  a  temple  is  built  and  an 
altar  set  up  in  an  house  adorned  with  gold,  to  be 
the  majestic  home  of  Christ.  Then  it  was  that 
Jerusalem  was  made  glorious  with  her  temple  and, 
herself  now  divine,  received  her  God  to  rest  there, 
now  that  the  homeless  Ark  was  established  in  its 
place  on  the  marble  altar.  In  our  camp  too  let  a 
sacred  temple  arise,  that  the  Almighty  may  ^•isit  its 
holy  of  hoUes.  For  what  does  it  profit  to  have  driven 
back  >vith  the  sword  the  earth-born  regiments  of  the 
Sins,  if  the  Son  of  Man  coming  do>vn  from  high 
heaven  and  entering  the  city  of  the  cleansed  body 
finds  it  unadorned  and  lacks  a  shining  temple  ? 
Hitherto  have  we  laboured  hard  in  close  battle  one 
after  another ;  now  let  the  white  plain  dress  of  quiet 
peace  be  active  in  its  tasks,  and  our  soldiers  un- 
harnessed hasten  to  build  an  abode  for  holy  worship." 
So  speaking,  with  majestic  step  descended  the 
queen  and  Concord,  her  partner  in  the  great  work, 
to  lay  out  the  new  temple  and  set  its  foundation. 
Her  golden  reed  "  runs  over  the  ground  measuring 
out  the  distances,  so  that  the  four  sides  shall  square 
every  way  and  the  junctures  be  true,  leaving  no 
unequal  angle  to  mar  the  neatness  of  the  plan  by 
breaking  its  harmonious  regularity.  On  the  side  of 
the  dawn  stretches  clear  a  quarter  Ut  up  by  three 
gates ;  three  gates  open  towards  the  south ;  three 
entrances  present  three  doors  to  the  west ;  and  as 
many  openings  does  the  lofty  house  show  towards 
the  pole  of  the  north.  No  building-stone  is  there, 
but  a  single  gem,  a  block  through  which  much  hew- 
ing has  pierced  a  passage,  frames  the  doorway  with 
a  shining  arch,  and  a  single  stone  forms  the  entrance- 
court.     On   the   tops   of  the   gateways   gleam   the 

337 


PRUDENTIUS 

nomina  apostolici  fulgent  bis  sena  senatus. 
Spiritus  his  titulis  arcana  recondita  Mentis  840 

ambit  et  electos  vocat  in  praecordia  Sensus ; 
quaque  hominis  natura  viget,  quam  corpore  toto 
quadrua  vis  animat,  trinis  ingressibus  aram 
cordis  adit  castisque  colit  sacraria  votis ; 
seu  pueros  sol  primus  agat,  seu  fervor  ephebos     845 
incendat  nimius,  seu  consummabilis  aevi 
perficiat  lux  plena  viros,  sive  algida  Borrae 
aetas  decrepitam  vocet  ad  pia  sacra  senectam, 
occurrit  trinum  quadrina  ad  compita  nomen, 
quod  bene  discipulis  disponit  rexduodenis.  850 

quin  etiam  totidem  gemmarum  insignia  textis 
parietibus  distincta  micant,  animasque  colorum 
viventes  liquido  lux  evomit  alta  profundo. 
ingens  chrysolitus,  nativo  interlitus  auro, 
hinc  sibi  sapphirum  sociaverat,  inde  beryllum,       855 
distantesque  nitor  medius  variabat  honores. 
hie  chalcedon  hebes  perfunditur  ex  hyacinthi 
lumine  vicino ;    nam  forte  cyanea  propter 
stagna  lapis  cohibens  ostro  fulgebat  aquoso. 
sardonicem  pingunt  amethystina,  pingit  iaspis      860 
sardium  iuxta  adpositum  pulcherque  topazon. 
has  inter  species  smaragdina  gramine  verno 
prata  virent  volvitque  vagos  lux  herbida  fluctus. 
te  quoque  conspicuum  structura  interserit,  ardens 


"  The  four  sides  of  the  square  temple  represent  here  the 
four  ages  of  man  which  are  described  in  lines  845-48. 

*  Compita  here  is  the  area  covered  by  the  temple  (including 
the  temple  itself)  into  which  ways  lead  from  the  four  directions. 
Trebatius  (a  jurist  and  a  younger  contemporary  of  Cicero)  as 
quoted  by  Servius  "  Danielis  "  in  a  note  on  Virgil  (Georgics,     i 
II,  383)  defines  compita  as  a  place  into  which,  or  from  which,     I 


THE  FIGHT  FOR   MANSOUL 

twelve  names  of  the  apostolic  senate  inscribed  in 
gold.  With  these  inscriptions  the  Spirit  encircles  the 
unseen  privacy  of  Soul,  calling  elect  Sentiments  into 
the  heart ;  and  at  whatever  side  is  man's  life," 
whose  bodily  temper  is  given  by  a  four-fold  force, 
it  approaches  the  altar  in  the  heart  by  three 
avenues  and  with  pure  desires  honours  its  sanctu- 
ary ;  whether  it  be  the  brisk  dawn  of  childhood, 
or  the  strong  burning  heat  of  youth,  or  the  broad 
day  of  the  man's  full  maturity,  or  the  chill  time 
of  north  ■wind  calling  feeble  age  to  its  devotions, 
three  names  present  themselves  at  this  meeting- 
place  of  ways  on  each  of  its  four  sides,^  where  the 
King  sets  them  out  in  honour  of  his  twelve  disciples. 
And  more,  the  sr.me  ntunber  of  gems,  set  singly  in 
the  fabric  of  the  walls,  sparkle  conspicuously,  and 
out  of  their  clear  depths  the  light  from  on  high  pours 
li\ing,  breathing  colours.  A  great  chr^i'solite, 
speckled  with  natural  gold,  had  partnered  ^\^th  it  on 
one  side  a  sapphire,  on  the  other  a  beryl,  and  the 
lustre  between  them  gave  varying  tones  to  the 
beauties  it  parted.  Here  a  dull  chalcedony  is  flooded 
with  colour  from  the  light  of  its  neighbour  jacinth; 
for  as  it  chanced  that  stone  with  the  dark  depths 
imprisoned  within  it  was  shining  near  by  vrith  its 
pellucid  flash  of  crimson.  The  amethyst's  hue  tinges 
the  sardonyx,  jasper  and  fair  topaz  the  sardius  set 
beside  them.  Amid  these  beauties  are  emeralds  like 
grassy  meadows  in  the  spring,  whose  green  light  rolls 
out  ever-changing  waves.  Thou  too,  gleaming 
chrj'soprase,  hast  a  conspicuous  place  in  the  structure, 

ways  lead  from,  or  in,  a  number  of  directions,  either  with 
or  without  an  altar,  and  either  roofed  over  or  in  the  open, 
and  in  which  the  people  of  a  country  district  meet  together. 

339 


PRUDENTIUS 

chrysoprase,  et  sidus  saxis  stellantibus  addit.        865 
stridebat  gravidis  funalis  machina  vinclis 
inmensas  rapiens  alta  ad  fastigia  gemmas. 
at  domus  interior  septem  subnixa  columnis 
crystalli  algentis  vitrea  de  rupe  recisis 
construitur,  quarum  tegit  edita  calculus  albens     870 
in  conum  caesus  capita  et  sinuamine  subter 
subductus  conchae  in  speciem,  quod  mille  talentis 
margaritum  ingens,  opibusque  et  censibus  hastae 
addictis,  animosa  Fides  mercata  pararat. 
hoc  residet  solio  pollens  Sapientia  et  omne  875 

consilium  regni  celsa  disponit  ab  aula, 
tutandique  hominis  leges  sub  corde  retractat. 
in  manibus  dominae  sceptrum  non  arte  politum 
sed  ligno  vivum  viridi  est,  quod  stirpe  recisum,^ 
quamvis  nullus  alat  terreni  caespitis  umor,  880 

fronde  tamen  viret  incolumi,  turn  sanguine  tinctis 
intertexta  rosis  candentia  lilia  miscet 
nescia  marcenti  florem  submittere  collo. 
huius  forma  fuit  sceptri  gestamen  Aaron 
floriferum,  sicco  quod  germina  cortice  trudens       885 
explicuit  tenerum  spe  pubescente  decorem 
inque  novos  subito  tumuit  virga  arida  fetus, 
reddimus  aeternas,  indulgentissime  doctor, 
grates,  Christe,  tibi,  meritosque  sacramus  honores 
ore  pio ;   nam  cor  vitiorum  stercore  sordet.  890 

tu  nos  corporei  latebrosa  pericula  operti 
luctantisque  animae  voluisti  agnoscere  casus, 
novimus  ancipites  nebuloso  in  pectore  sensus 

^  Bergman  reads  reciso  with  the  Qth-century  MS. 

"  The  identification  of  the  precious  stones  is  often  dubious. 
The  names  used  in  the  Authorised  Version  of  Revelation  xxi 
are  here  retained,  but  sapphirus  is  certainly  lapis  lazuli  and 
hyacinthus  is  sapphire. 

340 


THE  FIGHT   FOR   MANSOUL 

thy  star  is  added  to  the  glittering  stones.  The  crane 
was  creaking  \Wth  the  weight  on  its  chains  as  it 
whirled  the  vast  gems  up  to  the  heights.*  An  inner 
chamber,  too,  is  constructed,  which  rests  on  seven 
pillars  *  cut  from  a  glassy  rock  of  ice-like  cr^-stal 
and  topped  with  a  white  stone  cut  cone-wise  and 
curved  on  the  lower  part  into  the  likeness  of  a 
shell,  a  great  pearl  to  buy  which  Faith  had  boldly 
sold  at  auction  all  her  substance  and  her  property, 
and  paid  for  it  a  thousand  talents.*  Here  mighty 
Wisdom  sits  enthroned  and  from  her  high  court  sets 
in  order  all  the  government  of  her  realm,  meditating 
in  her  heart  laws  to  safeguard  mankind.  In  the 
sovereign's  hands  is  a  sceptre,  not  finished  -with 
craftsman's  skill  but  a  li\-ing  rod  of  green  wood; 
severed  from  its  stock,  it  draws  no  nurture  from 
moist  earthly  soil,  yet  puts  forth  perfect  foliage  and 
with  blooms  of  blood-red  roses  intermingles  white 
lilies  that  never  droop  on  ^nthering  stem.  This  is 
the  sceptre  that  was  prefigured  by  the  flowering  rod 
that  Aaron  carried,  which,  pushing  buds  out  of  its 
dry  bark,  imfolded  a  tender  grace  with  burgeoning 
hope,  and  the  parched  twig  suddenly  swelled  into  new 
fruits. ** 

We  give  to  Thee,  O  Christ,  Thou  tenderest  of 
teachers,  unending  thanks  and  offer  to  Thee  the 
honour  that  is  thy  due  ^\"ith  loyal  lips — for  our  heart 
is  foul  with  the  filth  of  sin.  Thou  didst  \sish  us  to 
learn  the  dangers  that  lurk- unseen  >nthin  the  body, 
and  the  \icissitudes  of  our  soul's  struggle.  We  know 
that  in  the  darkness  of  our  heart  conflicting  affections 

»  Cf.  Proverbs  ix,  1. 

*  Cf.  Matthew  xiii,  45-46. 

'  Cf.  Numbers  xvii,  6-8. 

341 


PRUDENTIUS 

sudare  alternis  conflictibus,  et  variato 
pugnarum  eventu  nunc  indole  crescere  dextra,     895 
nunc  inclinatis  virtutibus  ^  ad  iuga  vitae 
deteriora  trahi  seseque  addicere  noxis 
turpibus  et  propriae  iacturam  ferre  salutis. 
o  quotiens  animam,  vitiorum  peste  repulsa, 
sensimus  incaluisse  Deo  !    quotiens  tepefactum      900 
caeleste  ingenium  post  gaudia  Candida  taetro 
cessisse  stomacho  !  fervent  bella  horrida,  fervent 
ossibus  inclusa,  fremit  et  discordibus  armis 
non  simplex  natura  hominis ;   nam  viscera  limo 
effigiata  premunt  animam,  contra  ille  sereno         905 
editus  adflatu  nigrantis  carcere  cordis 
aestuat,  et  sordes  arta  inter  vincla  recusat. 
spiritibus  pugnant  variis  lux  atque  tenebrae, 
distantesque  animat  duplex  substantia  vires, 
donee  praesidio  Christus  Deus  adsit  et  omnes       910 
virtutum  gemmas  conponat  sede  piata, 
atque,  ubi  peccatum  regnaverat,  aurea  templi 
atria  constituens  texat  spectamine  morum 
ornamenta  animae,  quibus  oblectata  decoro 
aeternum  solio  dives  Sapientia  regnet.  915 

*  Some  MSS.  have  cervicibus. 


342 


THE  FIGHT   FOR   MANSOUL 

fight  hard  in  successive  combats  and,  as  the  fortune 
of  battle  varies,  now  grow  strong  in  goodness  of  dis- 
position and  again,  when  the  virtues  are  worsted,  are 
dragged  away  to  live  in  bondage  to  the  worse,  making 
themselves  the  slaves  of  shameful  sins,  and  content 
to  suffer  the  loss  of  their  salvation.     How  often,  when 
the  plaguing  sins  have  been  driven  away,  have  we 
felt  our  soul  aglow  with  the  presence  of  God,  how 
often,  after  these  pure  joys,  felt  our  heavenly  nature 
grow  cool  and  yield  to  foul  desire  I     Savage  war  rages    1 
hotly,  rages  within  our  bones,  and  man's  two-sided  y  ;^^-4 
nature  is  in  an  uproar  of  rebelUon ;  for  the  flesh  that  ^^.^jjU/; 
was  formed  of  clay  bears  down  up>on  the  spirit,  but 
again  the  spirit  that  issued  from  the  pure  breath  of  ^  f  SO^ 
God  is  hot  withLi  the  dark  prison-house  of  the  heart,     \0'-^^ 
and  even  in  its  close  bondage  rejects  the  body's  filth. 
Light  and  darkness  with  their  opposing  spirits  are 
at  war,  and  our  two-fold  being  inspires  powers  at 
variance  ■with  each  other,  imtil  Christ  our  God  comes 
to  our  aid,  orders  all  the  jewels  of  the  \irtues  in  a 
pure  setting,  and  where  sin  formerly  reigned  builds 
the  golden  courts  of  his  temple,  creating  for  the  soul, 
out  of  the  trial  of  its  conduct,  ornaments  for  rich 
Wisdom  to  find  delight  in  as  she  reigns  for  ever  on 
her  beauteous  throne. 


343 


CONTRA 
ORATIONEM    SYMMACHI 

LIBER   I 

PRAEFATIO 

Paulus,  praeco  Dei,  qui  fera  gentium 

primus  corda  sacro  perdomuit  stilo, 

Christum  per  populos  ritibus  asperis 

inmanes  placido  dogmate  seminans, 

inmansueta  suas  ut  cerimonias  5 

gens  pagana  Deo  sperneret  agnito, 

actus  turbinibus  forte  nigerrimis 

hibernum  pelagus  iam  rate  debili 

et  vim  navifragi  pertulerat  noti. 

sed  cum  caerulei  proelia  gurgitis  10 

iussisset  Domini  dextra  quiescere, 

ad  portum  fluitans  cumba  relabitur 

exponitque  solo  litoris  uvidi 

contractos  pluvio  frigore  remiges. 

tunc  de  litoreis  saepibus  algidi  15 

arentum  propere  bracchia  palmitum 

convectant  rapidos  unde  focos  struant : 

fascem  quisque  suum  congerit  ignibus 

expectans  calidi  luxuriam  rogi. 

Paulus,  dum  fragiles  cogere  surculos  20 

et  densere  foci  congeriem  studet, 

incautam  cumulis  inseruit  manum, 

torpebat  glacie  pigra  ubi  vipera 

344  " 


A    REPLY   TO    THE    ADDRESS 
OF    SYMMACHUS" 

BOOK   I 

PREFACE 

Paul,  the  herald  of  God,  who  first  wath  his  holy 
pen  subdued  the  ^\■ild  hearts  of  the  Gentiles  and 
•with  his  peaceable  teaching  propagated  the  know- 
ledge of  Christ  over  barbarous  nations  that  followed 
savage  ways,  so  that  the  untamed  pagan  race  might 
come  to  know  God  and  reject  its  own  rituals,  chanced 
once  to  be  driven  before  a  black  tempest  and  with 
his  ship  disabled  endured  a  stormy  sea  and  a  furious, 
wrecking  wind.  But  when  the  Lord's  hand  made 
the  dark,  warring  waters  sink  to  rest,  the  vessel,  still 
afloat,  glided  into  a  haven  and  on  the  wet  shore  dis- 
embarked her  crew  all  pinched  with  cold  and  rain ; 
and  then,  shivering  the  while,  they  hastily  gathered 
dr}',  branching  shoots  from  bushes  by  the  shore  to 
make  a  vehement  blaze,  each  one,  as  he  piled  his 
bundle  on  the  flames,  looking  to  enjoy  the  warmth 
of  the  bonfire.  Paul,  busily  gathering  brittle  t\\igs 
and  pressing  them  on  the  burning  heap,  put  an 
unwary  hand  into  the  pile,  where  a  viper  had  been 

*  See  Introduction,  pp.  x-xii. 

345 


PRUDENTIUS 

sarmentis  laqueos  corporis  inplicans. 

quae  postquam  intepuit  fomite  fumeo  25 

laxavitque  ferox  colla  rigentia, 

iam  flecti  facilis,  rettulit  ad  manum 

vibrato  capita  spicula  dentium. 

haerentem  digiti  vulnere  mordicus 

pendentemque  gerens  Paulus  inhorruit.  30 

exclamant  alii,  quod  cute  livida 

virus  mortiferum  serpere  crederent. 

at  non  intrepidum  terret  apostolum 

tristis  tarn  subiti  forma  periculi. 

adtollens  oculos  sidera  suspicit  35 

Christum  sub  tacito  pectore  murmurans, 

excussumque  procul  discutit  aspidem. 

abiectus  coluber  verberat  aera~ 

atque  oris  patuli  solvit  acumina. 

mox  omnis  sanies  deserit  et  dolor  40 

ceu  nullo  laceram  vulnere  dexteram, 

siccatusque  perit  vipereus  liquor. 

hydrum  praecipitem  dum  rotat  inpetus, 

arsurum  mediis  intulit  ignibus. 

sic  nunc  post  hiemem  vimque  trucis  freti,  45 

quo  iactata  ratis  tunc  Sapientiae  est, 
cum  sub  sacricolis  territa  regibus 
vix  panso  poterat  currere  carbaso 
adflictosque  suos  turbine  saeculi 

vectarat  rabidis  fluctibus  innatans,  50 

morsum  vulnificum  lex  pia  pertulit. 
occultabat  enim  se  prius  abditum 
virus  nee  gravidum  protulerat  caput, 
contentum  involucris  atque  cubilibus 
subter  conprimere  clausa  silentia.  55 

sed,  dum  forte  latens  inpietas  riget, 
dextram  lustitiae  pigra  momorderat 

346 


A  REPLY  TO  ADDRESS  OF  SYMMACHUS 

l}-ing  torpid  and  benumbed  with  the  frost,  its  body 
twined  in  coils  about  the  sticks ;  and  now  that  it 
was  warmed  up  by  the  smoking  fire  and  got  its  stiff 
neck  loosened  it  grew  fierce  again,  and  with  its 
suppleness  restored  it  poised  its  head  and  struck  at 
his  hand  with  its  sharp  teeth.  Paul  shuddered  as  he 
lifted  it  while  it  clung  to  the  wound  in  his  finger, 
hanging  on  by  its  bite.  Others  cried  out,  for  they 
supposed  the  deadly  venom  was  spreading  and  dis- 
colouring the  skin  ;  but  the  apostle  was  undaunted  ; 
the  sudden  peril  in  this  grim  shape  did  not  affright 
him.  Raising  his  eyes,  he  looked  up  to  heaven, 
silently  uttering  the  name  of  Christ  in  his  heart, 
and  shook  the  reptile  off  and  cast  it  from  him,  and 
the  snake,  as  he  threw  it  off,  lashing  the  air  opened 
its  mouth  and  released  its  fangs.  Then  all  the 
tainted  blood  and  the  pain  vanished  from  the  hand 
as  though  no  wound  had  torn  it,  and  the  xiper's 
venom  dried  up  and  disappeared.  The  forceful  toss 
sent  the  serpent  whirling  into  the  midst  of  the  fire 
to  bum. 

So  in  our  day,  after  the  storm  and  violence  of  the 
angrv'  sea  whereon  Wisdom's  barque  was  driven 
about,  what  time  she  was  put  in  fear  under  idolatrous 
rulers  and  could  scarce  run  with  canvas  spread,  and 
the  people  she  carried  as  she  floated  over  the  raging 
waves  were  in  distress  from  the  storm  of  the  world, 
her  holy  law  suffered  a  bite  that  wounded  it.  For 
the  poison  had  been  lurking  hitherto  in  secret,  nor 
put  forth  its  \-irulent  head,  but  had  been  content  to 
he  wTapped  up  deep  in  its  lair  and  keep  close  silence ; 
but  while  Impiety  was  lying  stiff  and  unperceived, 
numb  as  it  was,  it  bit  the  hand  of  Righteousness, 
for  its  gall   was  inflamed  and  it  was  heated  with 

347 


PRUDENTIUS 

succensi  stomacho  fellis  inaestuans. 

heu,  quam  catholicam  nil  prope  profuit 

puppem  nasse  sacri  remigio  stili  60 

quern  Paulus  variis  gentibus  edidit ! 

vix  portu  placido  tuta  quieverat 

victrix  edomitis  mille  furoribus, 

vix  adstricta  suis  iam  retinaculis 

vectores  stabili  condiderat  solo  :  65 

erumpit  subito  triste  periculum. 

nam  dum  praecalidos  igniculos  sibi 

solvendis  adolent  et  senio  et  gelu, 

dum  virgas  steriles  atque  superfluas 

flammis  de  fidei  palmite  concremant,  70 

ut  concreta  vagis  vinea  crinibus 

silvosi  inluviem  poneret  idoli, 

palpavit  nimius  perniciem  tepor. 

seps-insueta  subit  serpere  flexibus 

et  vibrare  sagax  eloquii  caput :  75 

sed  dextra  inpatiens  vulneris  inritos 

oris  rhetorici  depulit  halitus  ; 

efFusum  ingenii  virus  inaniter 

summa  Christicolis  in  cute  substitit. 

Salvator  generis  Romulei,  precor,  80 

qui  cunctis  veniam  das  pereuntibus, 
qui  nullum  statuis  non  operis  tui 
mortalem,  facili  quern  releves  manu, 
huius,  si  potis  est,  iam  miserescito 
praeruptam  in  foveam  praecipitis  viri.  85 

spirat  sacrilegis  flatibus  inscius 
erroresque  suos  indocilis  fovet. 
obtestor,  iubeas  ne  citus  inpetus 
arsurum  mediis  inferat  ignibus. 


348 


A   REPLY  TO  ADDRESS  OF  SYMMACHUS 

rage.  Alas,  how  all  but  bootless  it  has  been  that 
the  Catholic  barque  has  swum  the  seas  under  the 
oarage  of  the  holy  \\Titings  that  Paul  put  forth  to 
many  nations !  Scarce  had  she  come  to  rest  in 
safety  in  the  calm  haven  after  her  \'ictory  over  a 
thousand  wild  storms,  scarce  had  she  been  made  fast 
with  her  mooring-ropes  and  landed  her  passengers 
on  firm  ground,  when  suddenly  the  grim  peril  burst 
forth.  For  while  they  were  making  hot  fires  to 
relieve  their  weariness  and  cold,  burning  in  the  flames 
the  barren  and  useless  shoots  from  the  \-ine  of  the 
faith,*'  which  had  grown  into  a  thick  mass  of  gadding 
tresses,  to  rid  it  of  its  rank  forest-growth  of  idolatry, 
the  all  too  warm  caress  of  the  heat  brought  the 
plague  to  life.  The  snake  began  to  creep  and  t\nne 
anew  and  poise  a  head  that  was  skilled  in  speech. 
But  a  hand  that  no  wound  can  hurt  turned  aside  the 
vain  breathings  of  that  eloquent  mouth ;  *  its 
poisonous  talent  was  poured  out  -without  effect  and 
stopped  short  on  the  surface  of  the  Christians'  skin. 
O  Sa\iour  of  the  race  of  Romulus,  who  dost  grant 
thy  grace  to  all  that  are  perishing  and  dost  establish 
as  a  work  of  thine  even,-  mortal  whom  vrith  ready 
hand  Thou  raisest  up,  I  pray  Thee,  if  it  may  be, 
have  compassion  now  on  this  man  who  has  fallen 
into  a  sheer  pit.  Un\\-ittingly  he  breathes  impiety, 
and  in  his  ignorance  clings  to  his  errors.  I  beseech 
Thee,  command  that  a  s^vift  toss  shall  not  send  him 
into  the  midst  of  the  fire  to  bum. 

•  This  probably  refers  to  the  condemnation  of  heresies  by 
the  Council  called  by  Theodosius  I  at  Constantinople  in  381. 

*  Pmdentius  admits  the  oratorical  pre-eminence  of  Sym- 
machos. 


349 


PRUDENTIUS 

Credebam  vitiis  aegram  gentilibus  urbem 

iam  satis  antiqui  pepulisse  pericula  morbi 

nee  quidquam  restare  mali,  postquam  medicina 

principis  inmodicos  sedarat  in  arce  dolores. 

sed  quoniam  renovata  lues  turbare  salutem  5 

temptat  Romulidum,  patris  inploranda  medella 

est, 
ne  sinat  antique  Romam  squalere  vetemo 
neve  togas  procerum  fumoque  et  sanguine  tingui. 
inclitus  ergo  parens  patriae,  moderator  et  orbis, 
nil  egit  prohibendo  vagas  ne  pristinus  error  10 

crederet  esse  deum  nigrante  sub  aere  formas, 
aut  elementorum  naturam,  quae  Patris  ars  est 
omnigeni,  summa  pro  maiestate  sacraret, 
vir  solus  cui  cura  fuit  ne  publica  morum 
plaga  cicatricem  summa  leviter  cute  elausam  15 

duceret,  et  latebram  tabentis  vulneris  alte 
inpressam  penitusque  putri  de  pure  peresam 
iuncta  superficies  medico  fallente  foveret, 
sed  studuit  quo  pars  hominis  generosior  intus 
viveret  atque  animam  letaH  peste  piatam  20 

nosset  ab  intemo  tutam  servare  veneno  ? 
ilia  tyrannorum  fuerat  medicina,  videre 
quis  status  ante  oculos  praesentibus  ac  perituris 
conpeteret  rebus,  nee  curam  adhibere  futuris. 
heu,  male  de  populo  meriti,  male  patribus  ipsis       25 
blanditi,  quos  praecipites  in  Tartara  mergi 
ciim  love  siverunt  multa  et  cum  plebe  deorum ! 

35° 


A  REPLY  TO  ADDRESS  OF  SYMMACHUS 

I  USED  to  think  that  Rome,  which  was  sick  viith  her 
pagan  errors,  had  by  now  quite  rid  herself  of  the 
dangers  of  her  old  disease  and  that  no  ill  remained 
behind,  now  that  the  emperor's  healing  measures 
had  assuaged  in  the  seat  of  power  her  grievous 
pains.*  But  since  the  plague  has  broken  out  anew 
and  seeks  to  trouble  the  well-being  of  the  race  of 
Romulus,  we  must  beg  a  remedy  of  our  father,  that 
he  let  not  Rome  sink  again  into  her  old  filthy  torpor 
nor  suffer  her  great  men's  gowns  to  be  stained  with 
smoke  and  blood.  Did  the  illustrious  father  of  his 
country  and  ruler  of  the  world  achieve  nothing,  then, 
when  he  forbade  old  error  to  believe  in  shapes  of 
gods  that  went  about  in  the  murky  air,  or  to  con- 
secrate in  place  of  the  supreme  majesty  the  elements 
which  are  the  handiwork  of  the  Father  who  created 
all  ?  He  was  the  one  man  whose  care  it  was  that, 
while  the  wound  in  the  nation's  character  showed 
outwardly  a  scar  lightly  healed  on  the  skin,  the 
union  of  the  surface  should  not,  because  of  the 
surgeon's  dishonesty,  foster  in  secret  a  deep-seated 
wasting  sore,  all  eaten  away  with  putrefaction ;  but 
sought  diligently  to  make  man's  nobler  part  within 
him  live  and  know  how  to  keep  the  soul  that  was 
cleansed  of  the  deadly  plague  safe  from  internal 
poison.  The  treatment  the  usurpers  applied  before 
had  been  to  see  what  order  of  affairs  would  meet  the 
passing  situation  of  the  moment,  and  to  take  no 
trouble  for  the  future.  Alas,  ill  did  they  serve  the 
nation,  ill  complaisance  did  they  show  to  the  senators 
1  themselves,  when  they  let  them  plunge  headlong 
into  hell  in  company  with  Jupiter  and  the  great  mob 

"  Pagan  worship  was  forbidden  undw  Tbeodosius  I. 


i 


PRUDENTIUS 

ast  hie  imperium  protendit  latius  aevo 

posteriore  suis  cupiens  sancire  salutem. 

nimirum  pulchre  quidam  doctissimus  "  esset  30 

publica  res,"  inquit,  "  tune  fortunata  satis,  si 

vel  reges  saperent  vel  regnarent  sapientes." 

estne  ille  e  numero  paueorum  qui  diadema 

sortiti  aetheriae  coluerunt  dogma  sophiae  ? 

contigit  ecee  hominum  generi  gentique  togatae      35 

dux  sapiens,     felix  nostrae  res  publiea  Romae 

iustitia  regnante  viget.     parete  magistro 

sceptra  gubernanti.     monet  ut  deterrimus  error 

utque  superstitio  veterum  procul  absit  avorum, 

nee  putet  esse  deum,  nisi  qui  super  omnia  summus  40 

emineat  magnique  inmensa  creaverit  orbis. 

num  melius  Saturnus  avos  rexisse  Latinos 
creditur,  edictis  qui  talibus  informavit 
agrestes  animos  et  barbara  corda  virorum  ? 
"  sum  deus.     advenio  fugiens.     praebete  latebras,  45 
occultate  senem  nati  feritate  tyranni 
deiectum  solio.     placet  hie  fugitivus  et  exul 
ut  lateam,  genti  atque  loco  Latium  dabo  nomen. 
vitibus  incurvum,  si  qua  est  ea  cura,  putandis 
procudam  chalybem,  necnon  et  moenia  vestri  50 

"  Under  Christian  emperors  before  Theodosius  paganism 
had  been  at  least  tolerated;  indeed  the  emperor,  though 
himself  a  Christian,  was,  as  Pontifex  Maximus,  the  ofl&cial 
head  of  the  old  state  religion.  Gratian  (in  375)  was  the  first 
emperor  who  refused  to  hold  this  oflBce.  The  senate  had  been 
the  stronghold  of  paganism.  Cambridge  Medieval  History, 
I,  114. 

"  Plato,  Republic  V,  473d. 

'  According  to  the  legend  (as  in  Virgil,  Aeneid  VIII, 
319  £f.)  Saturn,  on  being  expelled  from  heaven  by  his  son 
Jupiter,  took  refuge  in  Latium,  where  he  introduced  the 
elements  of  civilisation.     There  was  also  a  tradition  of  a 


A  REPLY  TO  ADDRESS  OF  SYMMACHUS 

of  their  gods !  "  But  this  emperor  has  extended  the 
fame  of  his  reign  further  in  time  to  come  by  seeking 
to  establish  his  people's  well-being.  To  be  sure  a 
learned  man  finely  says,  "  The  Commonwealth  would 
then  be  blest  enough,  if  either  kings  were  wise  or 
wise  men  kings."  ^  Is  not  he  of  whom  I  speak 
among  the  few  who,  having  received  the  diadem, 
devoted  themselves  to  the  teachings  of  heavenly 
wisdom  ?  In  him  the  race  of  men  and  the  people 
who  wear  the  toga  have  found  a  wise  leader  ;  Rome's 
commonwealth  in  our  day  thrives  in  blessedness 
because  righteousness  is  on  the  throne.  Obey  ye  a 
teacher  who  \vields  the  sceptre ;  he  gives  warning 
that  the  wicked  error  and  superstition  of  our  fore- 
fathers of  old  be  put  away  and  not  suppose  there 
is  a  god  except  Him  who  stands  out  supreme  over 
all  things  and  created  the  infinitude  of  the  great 
world. 

Is  Saturn  thought  to  have  ruled  our  Latin  fore- 
bears better,  he  who  shaped  the  rude  minds  and 
uncivilised  hearts  of  men  \\'ith  proclamations  such  as 
these  ?  '^ — "  I  am  a  god.  I  come  to  you  an  outcast ; 
give  me  a  hiding-place.  Conceal  an  old  god  driven 
from  his  throne  by  a  savage,  usurping  '^  son.  It  is  my 
pleasure  to  hide  me  here,  a  fugitive  and  exile,  and 
to  race  and  country  I  shall  give  the  name  of  Latin. 
To  prune  your  \ines,  if  you  are  interested  in  that,  I 
shall  beat  out  a  cur\-ed  tool  of  iron,  and  I  shall 

town  called  Satumia  (Aeneid  VIII,  355-8).  At  line  48 
Prudentius  alludes  to  the  fanciful  derivation  of  Latium  from 
lateo.  Later  times  looked  back  to  the  reign  of  Saturn  in 
Latium  as  a  golden  age.  Cf.  lines  72-73;  Aeneid  VIII, 
324-5;  TibullusI,  3,  35-48. 

<*  Cf.  the  frequent  description  of  usurping  emperors  as 
"  tyranni." 

353 
VOL.    I.  N 


PRUDENTIUS 

fluminis  in  ripa  statuam  Saturnia  vobis. 

vos  nemus  adpositasque  meo  sub  honore  sacrantes 

(sum  quianam  Caelo  genitus)  celebrabitis  aras." 

inde  deos,  quorum  patria  spectata  sepulcra 

scimus,  in  aere  hebetes  informavere  minores,  55 

advena  quos  profugus  gignens  et  equina  libido 

intulit  Italiae  :  Tuscis  namque  ille  puellis 

primus  adhinnivit  simulato  numine  moechus. 

mox  patre  deterior  silvosi  habitator  Olympi 
luppiter  incesta  spurcavit  labe  Lacaenas,  60 

nunc  bove  subvectam  rapiens  ad  crimen  amatam, 
nunc  tener  ac  pluma  levior  blandosque  susurros 
in  morem  recinens  suave  inmorientis  oloris, 
capta  quibus  volucrem  virguncula  ferret  amorem, 
nunc  foribus  surdis,  sera  quas  vel  pessulus  artis       65 
firmarat  cuneis,  per  tectum  dives  amator 
imbricibus  ruptis  undantis  desuper  auri 
infundens  pluviam  gremio  excipientis  amicae, 
armigero  modo  sordidulam  curante  rapinam 
conpressu  inmundo  miserum  adficiens  catamitum,  70 
pelice  iam  puero  magis  indignante  sorore. 
haec  causa  est  et  origo  mali,  quod  saecla  vetusto 
hospite  regnante  crudus  stupor  aurea  finxit, 
quodque  novo  ingenio  versutus  luppiter  astus 
multiplices  variosque  dolos  texebat,  ut  ilium,  75 


"  The  legend  that  Saturn  on  one  occasion  changed  himself 
into  a  horse  is  referred  to  by  Virgil,  Georgics  III,  92-4. 

*•  The  Greek  stories  to  which  Prudentius  refers  are  those  of 
Europa,  whom  Zeus  (Jupiter)  in  the  form  of  a  white  bull 
carried  on  his  back,  swimming  from  Phoenicia  to  Crete; 
Leda,  to  whom  he  came  as  a  swan ;  Danae,  who  was  kept  by 
her  father  in  a  brazen  tower  but  was  visited  by  Zeus  in  the 
form  of  a  shower  of  gold;  Ganymede,  who  was  carried  off 
by  an  eagle  to  be  Jupiter's  cup-bearer.     The  eagle  is  spoken 

354 


A  REPLY   TO  ADDRESS  OF  SYMMACHUS 

establish  for  you  on  the  bank  of  your  river  a  city 
called  Satumia.  As  for  you,  you  will  consecrate  a 
grove  and  an  altar  thereby  in  my  honour  (for  I  am 
the  son  of  Heaven)  and  will  worship  there."  So  dull- 
witted  posterity  shaped  gods  in  bronze  of  men  whose 
tombs  we  know  were  sights  to  be  seen  in  their 
countr\\  The  homeless  stranger  ^^^th  his  horse- 
lust  "  begot  them  and  brought  them  upon  Italy,  for 
he  was  the  first  fornicator  that  pretended  divinity 
when  he  whinnied  after  the  maids  of  Tuscany. 

Next  Jupiter,  who  was  worse  than  his  father  and 
lived  on  wooded  Olympus,  defiled  the  Laconian 
women  with  the  stain  of  lust,  at  one  time  carrying 
off  his  loved  one  on  a  bull's  back*  to  commit  his 
crime ;  again,  gentle  and  lighter  than  down  and 
chanting  soft  wooing  notes  like  a  swan's  sweet 
death-song,  to  charm  the  girl  and  make  her 
veiling  to  submit  to  his  \Wnged  love ;  or  again, 
when  doors  were  deaf  and  tight-wedged  bar  or  bolt 
held  them  fast,  the  rich  lover  would  break  the 
tiles  and  through  the  roof  pour  streaming  down  a 
shower  of  gold  for  his  mistress  to  catch  it  in  her 
lap ;  or  his  armour-bearer  managed  the  vile  ravish- 
ing and  he  held  the  wretched  GamTtnede  in  his  foul 
embrace,  and  his  sister  was  angrier  than  ever  at 
having  now  a  boy  as  her  rival.  The  cause  and 
fountain-head  of  the  evil  is  that  raw  stupidity 
imagined  a  golden  age  in  the  reign  of  the  old  stranger, 
and  that  with  his  unheard-of  cleverness  the  ^rily 
Jupiter  de\-ised  many  a  dexterous  trick  and  form  of 
guile,  so  that,  when  he  chose  to  change  his  skin 

of  as  Jupiter's  armour-bearer  (e.g.  Aeneid  V,  255);  or  as  the 
carrier  of  his  thunder-bolts  (Horace,  Odes  IV,  4,  1 ;  Ovid, 
Metamorphoses  XII,  560). 

355 


PRUDENTIUS 

vertere  cum  vellet  pellem  faciemque,  putarent 
esse  bovem,  praedari  aquilam,  concumbere  cycnum, 
et  nummos  fieri  et  gremium  penetrare  puellae. 
nam  quid  rustieitas  non  crederet  indomitorum 
stulta  virum,  pecudes  inter  ritusque  ferinos  80 

dedere  sueta  animum  diae  rationis  egenum  ? 
in  quamcumque  fidem  nebulonis  callida  traxit 
nequitia,  infelix  facilem  gens  praebuit  aurem. 

successit  lovis  imperio  corruptior  aetas, 
quae  docuit  rigidos  vitiis  servire  colonos.  85 

expertes  furandi  homines  hac  inbuit  arte 
Mercurius,  Maia  genitus  ;   nunc  magnus  habetur 
ille  deus,  cuius  dedit  experientia  fures. 
necnon  Thessalicae  doctissimus  ille  magiae 
traditur  extinctas  sumptae  moderamine  virgae        90 
in  lucem  revocasse  animas,  Cocytia  leti 
iura  resignasse  sursum  revolantibus  umbris, 
ast  alias  damnasse  neci  penitusque  latenti 
inmersisse  chao.     facit  hoc  ad  utrumque  peritus 
ut  fuerit  geminoque  armarit  crimine  vitam ;  95 

murmure  nam  magico  tenues  excire  figuras 
atque  sepulcrales  scite  incantare  favillas, 
vita  itidem  spoliare  alios  ars  noxia  novit. 
artificem  scelerum  simplex  mirata  vetustas 
supra  hominem  coluit,  simulans  per  nubila  ferri     100 
aligerisque  leves  pedibus  transcurrere  ventos. 

"  Mercury  (Hermes)  was  god  of  thieves.  Among  his  other 
functions  was  that  of  conducting  the  souls  of  the  dead  into 
the  lower  world.  The  wand  is  his  regular  attribute ;  in  Homer 
he  uses  it  to  produce  or  dispel  sleep;  but  it  also  becomes 
his  official  emblem  in  his  capacity  as  herald  of  the  gods. 
Prudentius  no  doubt  has  in  mind  Virgil's  lines  {Aeneid  IV, 
242) 

turn  virgam  rapit :  hac  animas  ille  evocat  Oreo 
pallentis,  alias  sub  Tartara  tristia  mittit. 


A  REPLY  TO  ADDRESS  OF  SYMMACHUS 

and  features,  men  thought  he  was  a  bull,  or  an 
eagle  carrying  off  his  prey,  or  a  swan  at  his  loves, 
and  that  he  turned  into  money  and  so  made  his  way 
to  the  maiden's  bosom.  For  what  would  those 
foolish,  rude,  uncivilised  folk  not  beUeve,  who  were 
wont  to  bestow  all  their  attention  on  dealing  with 
cattle  and  the  ways  of  beasts,  and  whose  minds  were 
devoid  of  heavenly  reason  ?  No  matter  to  what 
belief  the  wastrel's  cunning  profligacy  drew  them, 
the  luckless  race  lent  a  ready  ear. 

After  Jupiter's  reign  came  an  age  more  debased, 
which  taught  the  hardy  countr>-men  to  be  the  slaves 
of  sin.  Men  who  knew  naught  of  thieving  were 
first  instructed  in  this  art  by  Mercury,  son  of  Maia ; 
and  now  he  whose  practised  skill  produced  thieves 
is  reckoned  a  great  god!  Expert  too  in  Thessalian 
wizardry,  as  we  are  told,  he  used  a  wand  that  he 
took  in  his  hands  to  call  spirits  of  the  dead  back 
to  the  light,  annulling  the  control  of  Cocytus  over 
death  by  making  the  shades  fly  upwards,  while 
others  he  condemned  to  death  and  plunged  them 
deep  in  the  nether  darkness.**  This  proves  that  he 
was  skilled  both  ways  and  armed  his  life  with  two 
kinds  of  crime ;  for  he  had  a  guilty  knowledge  of 
how  to  raise  unsubstantial  spirits  with  muttered 
magic  and  cleverly  bewitch  the  ashes  in  the  tomb, 
and  also  how  to  rob  other  men  of  life ;  and  the 
simple  folk  of  old  wondered  at  his  contrivance  of 
crime  and  honoured  him  as  more  than  human,  pre- 
tending that  he  came  through  the  clouds  and  passed 
on  winged  feet  through  the  light  airs. 

357 


PRUDENTIUS 

ecce  deum  in  numero  formatus  et  aeneus  adstat 
Graius  homo  augustaque  Numae  praefulget  in  arce. 
strenuus  exculti  dominus  quidam  fuit  agri 
hortorumque    opibus    memorabilis ;    hie  tamen 

idem  105 

scortator  nimius  multaque  libidine  suetus 
rusticolas  vexare  lupas  interque  salicta 
et  densas  saepes  obscena  cubilia  inire ; 
indomitum  intendens  animum  semperque  paratum 
ad  facinus  nunquam  calidis  dabat  otia  venis.  110 

hie  deus  e  patrio  praenobilis  Hellesponto 
venit  ad  usque  Italos  sacris  cum  turpibus  hortos ; 
sinum  laetis  et  haec  votorum  liba  quotannis 
aecipit  ae  ruris  servat  vineta  Sabini, 
turpiter  adfixo  pudeat  quem  visere  ramo.  115 

Herculeus  mollis  pueri  famosus  amore 
ardor  et  in  transtris  iaetata  efferbuit  Argo, 
nee  maris  erubuit  Nemea  sub  pelle  fovere 
coneubitus  et  Hylan  pereuntem  quaerere  eaelebs. 
nune  Saliis  eantuque  domus  Pinaria  templum        120 
collis  Aventini  convexa  in  sede  frequentat. 

Thebanus  iuvenis  superatis  fit  deus  Indis, 
suceessu  dum  victor  ovans  lascivit  et  aurum 
captivae  gentis  revehit  spoliisque  superbus 

"  Priapus,  a  spirit  of  fertility,  figures  as  "  guardian  of 
gardens,  part  scarecrow,  part  warning  to  human  thieves, 
part  luck-bringer "  (Rose,  Handbook  of  Greek  Mytliology, 
p.  175). 

*  An  almost  verbatim  quotation  from  Virgil  {Eclogues, 
7.  33). 

"  In  the  course  of  the  voyage  of  the  Argonauts  Hylas  went 
for  water  to  a  spring,  and  for  his  beauty  was  drawn  under 
by  the  water  nymphs.  Hercules  was  left  behind  searching 
for  him.  The  killing  of  the  Nemean  lion  was  one  of  the 
twelve  labours  of  Hercules;  he  afterwards  wore  its  skin.    The 


A  REPLY  TO  ADDRESS   OF  SYMMACHUS 

See  there,  standing  amid  the  gods,  a  man  of 
Greece,  shaped  in  bronze  too,  and  gleaming  on 
Numa's  majestic  Capitol.  There  was  an  active 
owTier  of  well-tilled  land,  a  man  who  was  notable  for 
the  wealth  of  his  gardens ;  but  he  was  an  arrant 
whoremonger  too,  and  with  exceeding  lust  used  to 
plague  the  poor  country  drabs  and  couch  obscenely 
amid  the  willow-groves  and  thick-set  bushes,  inciting 
a  passion  untamed  and  ever  ready  for  misdeeds,  and 
gi\ing  his  hot  blood  no  rest.  This  man  came  as  a 
famous  god  from  his  native  Hellespont  to  the  gardens 
of  Italy  "  with  his  base  rites,  receiving  "  year  by 
year  a  bowl  of  milk  and  these  votive  cakes,"  *  and 
guarding  the  vineyards  of  the  Sabine  countr\-side, 
a  shameful  sight  with  the  branch  fastened  to  him. 

The  passion  of  Hercules,  who  was  notorious  for 
his  love  of  a  girUsh  boy,  raged  even  on  the  thwarts 
while  Argo  tossed  on  the  waters,  and  he  blushed  not 
to  cover  his  wickedness  under  the  wild  beast's  skin 
of  Nemea  and  to  search  for  Hylas,  when  he  dis- 
appeared, as  if  he  had  lost  a  vvife.  And  now  the 
Pinarian  house  fills  his  temple  with  dancing,  chanting 
priests,  where  it  stands  on  the  slope  of  the  Aventine 
hill.-^ 

A  young  man  of  Thebes  **  becomes  a  god  because 
he  has  conquered  India  and  comes  wantoning  in 
triumph  for  his  victory,  bringing  home  the  gold  of 
the  vanquished  nation,  and  in  the  pride  of  his  spoils 

story  of  the  establishment  of  his  worship  at  Rome  is  told  by 
Virgil  (Aeneid  VIII,  184-275)  and  by  Livy  (I,  7).  Tradition 
said  that  the  families  of  the  Potitii  and  Pinarii  were  placed 
in  charge  of  it. 

^  Bacchus  (Dionysus,  Bromius,  Liber).  See  Rose,  pp. 
149  ff. 

359 


PRUDENTIUS 

diffluit  in  luxum  cum  semiviro  comitatu  125 

atque  avidus  vini  multo  se  proluit  haustu, 
gemmantis  paterae  spumis  mustoque  Falerno 
perfundens  biiugum  rorantia  terga  ferarum. 
his  nunc  pro  meritis  Baccho  caper  omnibus  aris 
caeditur  et  virides  discindunt  ore  chelydros  130 

qui  Bromium  placare  volunt,  quod  et  ebria  iam 

tunc 
ante  oculos  regis  satyrorum  insania  fecit, 
et  fecisse  reor  stimulis  furialibus  ipsas 
maenadas  inflammante  mero  in  scelus  omne  rotatas. 
hoc  circumsaltante  choro  temulentus  adulter  135 

invenit  expositum  secreti  in  litoris  acta 
corporis  egregii  scortum,  quod  perfidus  illic 
liquerat  incesto  iuvenis  satiatus  amore. 
hanc  iubet  adsumptam  fervens  post  vina  Neaeram 
secum  in  deliciis  fluitantis  stare  triumphi,  140 

regalemque  decus  capitis  gestare  coronam. 
mox  Ariadnaeus  stellis  caelestibus  ignis 
additur :   hoc  pretium  noctis  persolvit  honore 
Liber,  ut  aetherium  meretrix  inluminet  axem. 

tantum  posse  omnes  illo  sub  tempore  reges        145 
indocilis  fatui  ducebat  ineptia  vulgi, 
ut  transire  suis  cum  sordibus  induperator 
posset  in  aeternum  caeli  super  ardua  regnum. 
regia  tunc  omnis  vim  maiestatis  et  omnis, 
parva  licet,  caeli  imperium  retinere  potestas  150 

credita :  ture  etiam  ducibus  parvoque  sacello 
inpertitus  honos,  quern  dum  metus  aut  amor  aut 

spes 
adcumulant,  longum  miseris  processit  in  aevum 


Ariadne,  deserted  on  the  isle  of  Naxos  by  Theseus. 
As  the  constellation  Corona. 


360 


A  REPLY  TO  ADDRESS  OF  SYMMACHUS 

abandoning  himself  to  indulgence  in  company  \\ith 
his  emasculate  following,  in  his  lust  for  •wine  soaking 
himself  with  many  a  draught  and  with  the  Falernian 
juice  that  foams  from  his  jewelled  cup  besprinkling 
the  dripping  backs  of  the  ^^ild  beasts  that  draw  his 
chariot.  In  recognition  of  these  merits  a  goat  is 
now  sacrificed  to  Bacchus  on  every  altar,  and  they 
that  would  propitiate  Bromius  tear  green  snakes 
\\-ith  their  mouths,  as  even  at  that  time  the  mad- 
drunk  satyrs  did  before  their  king's  eyes  and,  I  dare 
say,  the  maenads  did  too  in  their  frenzied  excite- 
ment, when  the  wine  set  them  afire  and  whirled 
them  into  every  sort  of  sin.  With  this  company 
dancing  around  him  the  tipsy  adulterer  finds  aban- 
doned on  the  sands  of  a  lonely  shore  a  mistress 
passing  fair,"  whom  a  faithless  young  lover  had 
deserted  there  when  he  tired  of  his  unclean  passion. 
Heated  with  drink,  he  takes  up  this  lady-love  and 
bids  her  stand  with  him  amid  his  voluptuous, 
drunken  procession  and  wear  a  royal  crown  to  grace 
her  head.  And  next  Ariadne's  fire  is  added  to  the 
stars  in  the  sky ;  ^  the  price  that  Liber  pays  for  her 
favour  is  that  his  mistress  shall  have  the  honour  of 
lighting  up  the  heavens. 

With  such  power  in  those  days  did  the  ignorant, 
silly,  stupid  rabble  accredit  any  king,  that  a  ruler 
could  pass  with  all  his  uncleanness  to  an  endless 
kingdom  in  the  heights  of  heaven.  At  that  time 
men  beUeved  that  kingly  power,  however  small, 
pKJSsessed  the  strength  of  all  majesty  and  the  govern- 
ment of  all  the  heaven,  and  leaders  had  honour  paid 
to  them  with  incense  and  a  httle  shrine.  Fear  or  love 
or  hope  kept  adding  to  it,  and  the  inherited  tradition 
went  marching  on  among  WTCtched  men  to  distant 

361 

n2       - 


PRUDENTIUS 

mos  patrius :  coepit  falsae  pietatis  imago 

ire  per  ignaros  nebuloso  errore  nepotes ;  155 

turn  quia,  quae  vivis  veneratio  regibus  ante 

contigerat,  functis  eadem  iam  munere  lucis 

cessit  et  ad  nigras  altaria  transtulit  urnas. 

inde  puellarum  ludibria,  pignera,  partus, 

et  furtivus  amor  iuvenum  et  deprensa  iugalis         160 

corruptela  tori,  quoniam  regalibus  aula 

fervere  tunc  vitiis  solita  est,  nee  perdita  luxu 

divorum  suboles  sancti  meminisse  pudoris. 

atque  ut,  Roma,  tuos  caelesti  ex  sede  parentes, 
quis  te  semideam  iactant  auctoribus  ortam,  165 

praestringam  breviter,  Gradivum  vel  Cytheream, 
ille  sacerdotem  violat,  contra  ilia  marito 
subcumbit  Phrygio.     coitus  fuit  inpar  utrique  : 
nee  terrestre  deam  decuit  mortalis  obire 
coniugium,  nee  caelicolam  descendere  ephebum    170 
virginis  ad  vitium  furtivoque  igne  calere. 
sed  Venus  augusto  de  sanguine  femina  vili 
privatoque  viro  vetitum  per  dedecus  haesit ; 
et,  §i  Rhea  sacram  lascivi  Martis  amore 
lusa  pudicitiam  fluviali  amisit  in  ulva,  175 

crediderim  generosae  aliquem  stirpis,  sed  eundem 
moribus  infamem,  conpressa  virgine  per  vim 
se  dixisse  deum,  ne  stuprum  numinis  ullus 
obicere  auderet  turpi  miseraeque  puellae, 
haec  Italos  induxit  avos  vel  fama  vel  error,  180 

Martia  Romuleo  celebrarent  ut  sacra  campo. 


»  Rhea  Silvia,  the  mother  of  Romulus. 
362 


J 


A  REPLY  TO  ADDRESS  OF  SYMMACHUS 

ages,  the  false  semblance  of  piety  spreading  through 
succeeding  generations  whose  ignorant  minds  were 
clouded  in  a  mist  of  error.  And  then  too,  the  same 
reverence  that  had  first  fallen  to  li\"ing  kings  was 
paid  to  them  also  after  they  had  passed  from  the 
light,  and  carried  their  worship  over  to  their  dark 
tombs.  From  all  this  came  dishonouring  of  young 
women,  pledgings  of  love,  births  of  children,  stealthy 
passion  for  young  men,  adulterers  caught  defiling 
the  marriage-bed,  because  then  courts  used  to  be  all 
afire  Mith  the  misdeeds  of  princes,  and  the  progeny 
of  the  deified  abandoned  themselves  to  indulgence 
and  took  no  thought  of  pure  modesty. 

And  now,  Rome,  to  touch  briefly  on  thy  progenitors 
from  heaven,  in  rirtue  of  whom  men  boast  that  thou 
art  half  divine,  Gradivus  and  the  Lady  of  Cythera, — 
the  one  \iolates  a  priestess,"  the  other  for  her  part 
yields  to  a  Phr}-gian  mate.*  It  was  an  unequal 
match  for  both,  for  it  became  not  a  goddess  to  sub- 
mit to  earthly  wedlock  with  a  mortal,  nor  a  swain 
from  heaven  to  come  do\\-n  to  ravish  a  girl  or  to  bum 
with  a  stealthy  passion.  But  the  truth  is  that  Venus 
was  a  woman  of  noble  blood  who  cleaved  to  a  low, 
common  man  in  a  forbidden  deed  of  shame ;  and  if 
Rhea  became  the  plaything  of  wanton  Mars'  love 
and  lost  her  sacred  modesty  amid  the  sedge  on  a 
river-bank,  I  should  think  it  was  some  man  of  high 
birth  but  disreputable  character  that  forced  the  maid 
and  said  he  was  a  god,  so  that  none  might  dare  to 
reproach  the  poor,  defiled  girl  with  the  lewd  act  of 
a  di\inity.  This  legend  or  error  it  was  that  led  our 
Italian  ancestors  to  keep  rites  of  Mars  on  the  Field 

*  Anchises,  the  father  of  Aeneas. 

363 


PRUDENTIUS 

utque  Palatinis  Capitolia  condita  saxis 

signarent  titulo  proavi  lovis  atque  Pelasgae 

Palladis  et  Libyca  lunonem  ex  arce  vocarent, 

cognatos  de  Marte  deos,  Veneris  quoque  nudum  185 

accirent  proceres  Erycino  e  vertice  signum, 

utque  deum  mater  Phrygia  veheretur  ad  Ida, 

Bacchica  de  viridi  peterentur  ut  orgia  Naxo. 

facta  est  terrigenae  domus  unica  maiestatis, 

et  tot  templa  deum  Romae  quot  in  orbe  sepulcra  190 

heroum  numerare  licet ;   quos  fabula  manes 

nobilitat,  noster  populus  veneratus  adorat. 

hos  habuere  deos  Ancus,  Numitor,  Numa,  Tullus, 

talia  Pergameas  fugerunt  numina  flammas, 

sic  Vesta  est,  sic  Palladium,  sic  umbra  penatum,  195 

talis  et  antiquum  servavit  terror  asylum. 

ut  semel  obsedit  gentilia  pectora  patrum 

vana  superstitio,  non  interrupta  cucurrit 

aetatum  per  mille  gradus.     tener  horruit  heres 

et  coluit  quidquid  sibimet  venerabile  cani  200 

*  I.e.  the  temple  of  Jupiter,  Juno,  and  Minerva  (Pallas) 
on  the  Capitoline  hill.  (Tradition  ascribed  its  foundation  to 
the  Tarquins.)  The  expression  "  Palatinis  saxis  "  is  strange 
in  this  connection,  but  Prudentius  is  thinking  of  early  Rome 
and  his  thought  may  be  coloured  by  his  memory  of  Aeneid 
VIII,  337  ff.,  where,  although  Evander's  city  is  situated  on 
the  Palatine,  the  Capitol  and  other  parts  seem  to  be  treated 
as  lying  within  its  territory.  Livy  (I,  10,  5)  gives  a  tradition 
that  Romulus  "  marked  out  the  boundaries  "  of  a  temple  of 
Jupiter  (Feretrius)  on  the  Capitol. 

*  Romulus,  the  "  father  "  of  Rome,  being  through  Mars 
the  grandson  of  Jupiter. 

"  I.e.  Carthage,  which  according  to  Aeneid  I,  15,  was 
Juno's  favourite  seat. 

■^  In  Sicily. 

'  Livy  (XXIX,  10-11)  tells  how  the  black  stone  which 
represented  the  Mother  of  the  Gods  (Cybele,  Magna  Mater) 
was  brought  to  Rome  from  Pessinus  in  Phrygia  in  204  B.C. 

364 


i 


A   REPLY  TO  ADDRESS  OF  SYMMACHUS 

at  Rome,  to  inscribe  on  the  Capitol "  which  they 
built  on  the  rocks  of  their  Palatine  city,  the  names 
of  their  great-grandsire  *  Jupiter  and  the  Grecian 
Pallas,  and  bring  Juno  from  her  stronghold  in 
Africa,'^  deities  of  Mars'  kin ;  and  it  made  their 
leaders  fetch  the  nude  figure  of  \'enus  from  the 
peak  of  Eryx,**  carrj'  the  mother  of  the  gods  from 
Phrj'gian  Ida  '  and  import  the  ^\■ild  revels  of  Bacchus 
from  green  Xaxos./  There  came  to  be  one  single 
home  for  all  earth-born  divinities,  and  you  may 
count  as  many  temples  of  gods  at  Rome  as  tombs 
of  heroes  in  all  the  world ;  to  dead  men  glorified  by 
legendary-  fame  our  nation  gives  reverence  and 
worship.  Such  are  they  whom  Ancus,  Numitor, 
Numa,  and  TuUus  reckoned  as  gods,  such  the 
di\'inities  that  fled  from  the  flames  of  Troy.  So  it 
is  that  we  have  \'esta  and  the  Palladium  9  and  our 
imaginary  household  gods,  and  it  was  fear  of  such 
that  kept  safe  the  Refuge ''  of  long  ago.  Once  the 
vain  superstition  beset  the  fathers'  pagan  hearts,  it 
ran  unchecked  through  a  thousand  generations  one 
after  another.  The  young  heir  bowed  shuddering 
before    anything    which    his    hoarv*    ancestors    had 

f  The  orgiastic  ritual  of  Bacchus  (Dionysus)  reached  Rome 
from  South  Italy  and  (according  to  Livy)  Etruria.  It  was 
put  down  by  decree  of  the  senate  dated  186  B.C.,  but  was 
permitted  within  narrow  limits.  Prudentius  must  have  had 
in  mind  Virgil's  line  "  bacchatamque  iugis  Naxon  viridemque 
Donusam  "  (Aeneid  III,  125). 

»  The  "  image  of  Athena  "  which  was  the  talisman  of 
Troy.  Rome  claimed  to  possess  it  (at  the  temple  of  Vest^). 
Cicero,  Pro  Scauro,  48,  describes  it  as  "quasi  pignus  nostrae 
salutis  atque  imperi."     Cf.  Servixis  on  Aeneid  II,  166. 

*  Legend  says  that  Romulus,  in  order  to  attract  inhabitants 
to  his  new  city,  established  a  place  of  sanctuary  for  outlaws 
from  other  communities  (Livy  I,  8,  5). 

365 


PRUDENTIUS 

monstrarant  atavi ;  puerorum  infantia  primo 

errorem  cum  lacte  bibit,  gustaverat  inter 

vagitus  de  farre  molae,  saxa  inlita  ceris 

viderat  unguentoque  lares  umescere  nigros. 

formatum  Fortunae  habitum  cum  divite  cornu       205 

sacratumque  domi  lapidem  consistere  parvus 

spectarat  matremque  illic  pallere  precantem. 

mox  umeris  positus  nutricis  trivit  et  ipse 

inpressis  silicem  labris,  puerilia  vota 

fudit  opesque  sibi  caeca  de  rupe  poposcit,  210 

persuasumque    habuit,    quod    quis    velit,    inde 

petendum. 
numquam  oculos  animumque  levans  rationis  ad 

arcem 
rettulit,  insulsum  tenuit  sed  credulus  usum, 
privates  celebrans  agnorum  sanguine  divos. 
iamque  domo  egrediens,  ut  publica  festa  diesque  215 
et  ludos  stupuit  celsa  et  Capitolia  vidit 
laurigerosque  deum  templis  adstare  ministros 
ac  Sacram  resonare  Viam  mugitibus  ante 
delubrum  Romae  (colitur  nam  sanguine  et  ipsa 
more  deae,  nomenque  loci  ceu  numen  habetur,     220 
atque  urbis  Venerisque  pari  se  culmine  tollunt 
templa,  simul  geminis  adolentur  tura  deabus), 
vera  ratus  quaecumque  fiant  auctore  senatu,^ 
contulit  ad  simulacra  fidem  dominosque  putavit 

^  The  Ith-century  MS.  and  some  others  have    quaecumque 
senatu  auctore  probantur  {or  probentur). 

"  See  note  on  Apoth.  457. 
366 


A  REPLY  TO  ADDRESS  OF  SYMMACHUS 

designated  as  worshipful  in  their  eyes.  Children  in 
their  infancy  drank  in  the  error  \\-ith  their  first 
milk ;  while  still  at  the  crj'ing  stage,  they  had  tasted 
of  the  sacrificial  meal,  and  had  seen  mere  stones 
coated  with  wax  "  and  the  grimy  gods  of  the  house 
dripping  with  unguent.  The  little  one  had  looked  at  a 
figure  in  the  shape  of  Fortune,  with  her  wealthy  horn, 
standing  in  the  house,  a  hallowed  stone,  and  watched 
his  mother  pale-faced  in  prayer  before  it.  Then, 
raised  on  his  nurse's  shoulder,  he  too  pressed  his  lips 
to  the  flint  and  rubbed  it  with  them,  pouring  out 
his  childish  petitions,  asking  for  riches  from  a  sight- 
less stone,  and  convinced  that  all  one's  \\ishes  must 
be  sought  from  thence.  Never  did  he  raise  eyes  and 
heart  and  turn  them  towards  the  throne  of  \\-isdom, 
but  clung  with  credulous  faith  to  his  witless  tradition, 
worshipping  gods  of  his  own  house  with  the  blood  of 
lambs.  And  then  when  he  went  abroad,  and  lost  in 
wonder  viewed  the  public  festivals  on  national  holy 
days  with  their  games,  and  saw  the  lofty  Capitol, 
the  laurelled  priests  standing  at  the  temples  of  their 
gods,  and  the  Sacred  Way  resounding  with  the  low- 
ing of  cattle  before  the  shrine  of  Rome  (for  she  too 
is  worshipped  with  blood  after  the  fashion  of  a 
goddess,  the  name  of  the  place  is  reckoned  as  a 
divinity,  the  temples  of  the  City  and  Venus  rise  to 
the  same  high  top  and  incense  is  burned  to  the  pair 
of  goddesses  together,)''  he  would  think  that  what  is 
done  by  the  senate's  authority  must  be  genuine,  and 
so  gave  his  faith  to  the  images  and  believed  that 
the  figures  standing  in  a  row,''  which  he  shuddered 

*  The   temple   of  Venus   and   Rome,    built   by   Hadrian, 
stood  on  the  north  side  of  the  Sacra  Via. 

'  Many  statues  of  deities  stood  in  the  area  Capitolina. 


PRUDENTIUS 

aetheris,  horrifico  qui  stant  ex  ordine  vultu.  225 

illic  Alcides,  spoliatis  Gadibus  hospes 
Arcadiae,  fulvo  acre  riget,  gemini  quoque  fratres 
corrupta  de  matre  nothi,  Ledeia  proles 
nocturnique  equites,  celsae  duo  numina  Roraae, 
inpendent  retinente  veru,  magnique  triumphi        230 
nuntia  suffuso  figunt  vestigia  plumbo. 
adsistunt  etiam  priscorum  insignia  regum, 
Tros,  Italus,  lanusque  bifrons,  genitorque  Sabinus, 
Saturnusque  senex,  maculoso  et  corpore  Picus, 
coniugis  epotum  sparsus  per  membra  venenum.    235 
omnibus  ante  pedes  posita  est  sua  cuique  vetusta 
arula.     lano  etiam  celebri  de  mense  litatur 
auspiciis  epulisque  sacris,  quas  inveterato, 
heu  miseri,  sub  honore  agitant,  et  gaudia  ducunt 
festa  Kalendarum.     sic  observatio  crevit  240 

ex  atavis  quondam  male  coepta,  deinde  secutis 
tradita  temporibus  serisque  nepotibus  aucta. 
traxerunt  longam  corda  inconsulta  catenam, 
mosque  tenebrosus  vitiosa  in  saecula  fluxit. 

hunc  morem  veterum  docili  iam  aetate  secuta  245 
posteritas  mense  atque  adytis  et  flamine  et  aris 
Augustum  coluit,  vitulo  placavit  et  agno, 
strata  ad  pulvinar  iacuit,  responsa  poposcit. 


"  Hercules,  who  was  entertained  by  the  Arcadian  Evander 
at  his  town  on  the  site  of  Rome  {Aeneid  VIII,  185  tf.). 

^  Castor  and  Pollux,  who  were  said  to  have  helped  the 
Romans  at  the  battle  of  Lake  Regillus  and  brought  news  of 
the  victory.  Cicero  (De  Natura  Deorum  II,  6)  recounts  a 
story  that  Publius  Vatinius,  on  his  way  to  Rome  by  night  in 
168  B.C.,  was  told  by  "  two  young  men  on  white  horses  " 
that  king  Perses  of  Macedonia  had  been  taken  that  day. 

"  Cf.  Aeneid  VII,  177-191.  Tros  figures  in  the  great 
temple  which  Virgil  imagines  at  the  beginning  of  Georgics  III. 

368 


A   REPLY  TO  ADDRESS  OF  SYMMACHUS 

to  look  at,  were  the  lords  of  the  heavens.  There 
stands  Alcides,"  all  stiff  in  tawny  bronze,  he  who 
was  Arcadia's  guest  after  spoiling  Gades ;  the  twin 
brethren  too,  bastard  sons  of  a  seduced  mother, 
Leda's  progeny,  those  night-riders,  the  two  pro- 
tecting deities  of  lofty  Rome,''  bend  forward,  held 
up  by  a  spit,  and  fix  in  a  sea  of  lead  the  feet  that 
brought  the  news  of  great  victory.  By  these  stand 
also  figures  of  old-time  kings,  Tros,  Italus,  Janus 
Facing-Both-Ways,  father  Sabinus,  old  Saturn,  and 
Picus  of  the  dappled  body,  his  frame  spotted  from 
drinking  his  spouse's  potion."  Each  of  them  has  his 
owTi  little  old  altar  set  before  his  feet ;  and  to  Janus 
offering  is  made  in  a  month  when  crowds  assemble 
and  auspices  are  taken  and  there  is  a  sacred  feast, 
which,  alas,  men  still  keep  in  its  long-established 
honour,  carrjang  on  the  festal  rejoicing  of  the 
Kalends.**  In  such  wise  has  the  observance  grown ; 
starting  in  an  evil  hour  long  ago  from  our  fore- 
fathers it  was  then  handed  on  to  the  generations 
that  followed  and  carried  further  by  their  remote 
descendants.  Their  unthinking  hearts  dragged  a 
lengthening  chain,  and  the  blind  custom  spread 
do\\"n  to  depraved  ages. 

FolloAving  this  custom  of  olden  days,  posterity  in 
an  age  when  it  had  become  easy  to  learn  the  lesson 
did  reverence  to  Augustus  "with  a  month  named  in 
his  honour,  and  with  shrine  and  priest  and  altar, 
and  propitiated  him  ^^-ith  calf  and  lamb  ;  it  prostrated 
itself  before  his  sacred  couch  and  asked  for  oracles. 

Picua  was  changed  into  a  woodpecker  by  the  enchantress 
Circe. 

*  I.e.  New  Year's  Day  still  has  a  festal  character  among 
Christians. 


PRUDENTIUS 

testantur  tituli,  produnt  consulta  senatus 
Caesareum  lovis  ad  speciem  statuentia  templum.  250 
adiecere  sacrum  fieret  quo  Livia  luno, 
non  minus  infamis  thalami  sortita  cubile 
quam  cum  fraterno  caluit  Saturnia  lecto. 
nondum  maternam  partu  vacuaverat  alvum 
conceptamque  viri  subolem  paritura  gerebat.         255 
pronuba     iam     gravidae     fulcrum     et     geniale 

parantur ; 
iam  sponsus  saliente  utero  nubentis  amicos 
advocat,  baud  sterilem  certus  fore  iam  sibi  pactam. 
vitricus  antevenit  tardum  praefervidus  ortum 
privigni  nondum  geniti ;  mox  editur  inter  260 

Fescennina  novo  proles  aliena  marito. 
idque  deum  sortes,  id  Apollinis  antra  dederunt 
consilium :   nunquam  melius  nam  cedere  taedas 
responsum  est,  quam  cum  praegnans  nova  nupta 

iugatur. 
banc  tibi,  Roma,  deam  titulis  et  honore  sacratam  265 
perpetuo  Floras  inter  Veneresque  creasti ! 
nee  mirum  :   quis  enim  sapiens  dubitaverat  illas 
mortali  de  stirpe  satas  vixisse,  et  easdem 
laude  venustatis  claras  in  amoribus  usque 
ad  famae  excidium  formae  nituisse  decore  ?  270 

quid  loquar  Antinoum  caelesti  in  sede  locatum, 
ilium  delicias  nunc  divi  principis,  ilium 


"  See  Taylor,  The  Divinity  of  the  Roman  Emperor ,  pp.  229- 
232.  Divine  honours  for  Livia,  the  widow  of  Augustus,  were 
refused  by  her  son  Tiberius  at  her  death  (Tacitus,  Annals 
V,  2),  but  established  by  Claudius  (Suetonius,  Claudius,  11). 
Earlier  attribution  was  unofficial. 

*  Bergman  and  other  editors  place  no  stop  after  gerebat, 
taking  pronuba  as  its  subject;  this  involves  taking  geniale 
as  a  substantive  parallel  with  fulcrum.    In  a  Roman  marriage 


I 


A  REPLY  TO  ADDRESS  OF  SYMMACHUS 

Inscriptions  bear  witness  to  it,  decrees  of  senate 
setting  up  a  temple  of  Caesar  in  the  fashion  of  Jupiter 
reveal  it.  They  added  a  rite  to  make  Livia  Juno ;  " 
and  indeed  the  marriage  that  fell  to  her  lot  was  of 
no  better  repute  than  when  Saturn's  daughter  lay 
afire  in  her  brother's  bed.  Her  womb  was  pregnant 
T^-ith  a  child  unborn,  she  was  carrying  a  babe  con- 
ceived of  a  husband  and  still  to  be  brought  forth. 
Brideswoman  ^  and  marriage-bed  are  pro\'ided  for  a 
bride  already  with  child ;  and  the  bridegroom  calls 
his  friends  when  the  child  in  his  bride's  womb  is 
already  leaping  and  he  is  sure  now  that  his  betrothed 
will  not  be  barren.  The  stepfather  in  his  eagerness 
will  not  wait  for  his  unborn  stepson's  slow  appear- 
ance, and  then  another  man's  child  is  born  to  the 
new  husband  amid  rude  jests.  And  this  was  the 
counsel  that  the  oracles  of  the  gods,  the  caverns  of 
Apollo,  gave ;  for  the  answer  was  that  marriage 
never  turns  out  better  than  when  the  bride  is  v.'iih 
child  at  the  union. "^  Of  such  a  woman,  O  Rome,  hast 
thou  made  thee  a  goddess  and  consecrated  her  with 
titles  and  constant  worship  along  with  thy  Floras  and 
thy  Venuses.  Nor  is  it  strange,  for  what  man  of 
sense  but  knew  that  they  too  were  of  mortal  stock 
and  hved  on  earth  and  were  renowned  for  their 
charms,  and  that  the  beauty  of  their  figures  made 
them  famous  in  amours  till  it  ruined  their  good 
name? 

There  is  Antinous  too,  set  in  a  heavenly  home,  he 
who  was  the  darUng  of  an  emperor  now  deified  and 

the  bride  was  attended  to  the  lecius  genialis  by  a  woman 
already  married  once  and  called  pronuba. 

*  For  the  facta  see   Tacitus,   Antuih  I,   10,  4,  and   Dio, 
Roman  History  XLVIII,  44,  2. 


PRUDENTIUS 

purpureo  in  gremio  spoliatum  sorte  virili, 
Hadrianique  dei  Ganymedem,  non  cyathos  dis 
porgere  sed  medio  recubantem  cum  love  fulcro     275 
nectaris  ambrosii  sacrum  potare  Lyaeum, 
cumque  suo  in  templis  vota  exaudire  marito  ? 

ergo  his  auspicibus  Traianus,  Nerva,  Severus 
et  Titus  et  fortes  gesserunt  bella  Nerones, 
quos  terrena  viros  inlustres  gloria  fecit  280 

et  virtus  fragilis  provexit  in  ardua  famae, 
adscita  e  ^  terris  sub  religione  iacentes  ! 
quam  pudet  hoc  illis  persuasum  talibus,  ut  se 
Romanasque  acies  censerent  Martis  amore 
posse    regi,    dum    se    Paphiae    male    blandus 

adulter  285 

venditat  Aeneadasque  suos  successibus  auget ! 
felices,  si  cuncta  Deo  sua  prospera  Christo 
principe  disposita  scissent,  qui  currere  regna 
certis  ducta  modis  Romanorumque  triumphos  ^ 
crescere  et  inpletis  voluit  se  infundere  saeclis  !     290 
sed  caligantes  animas  et  luce  carentes 
in  lovis  Augustique  adytis  templisque  duarum 
lunonum  Martisque  etiam  Venerisque  sacellis 
mactatas  taetro  leti  inmersere  barathro, 
supremum  regimen  crassis  in  partibus  orbis  295 

esse  rati  mersoque  poli  consistere  fundo. 

quidquid  humus,  quidquid  pelagus  mirabile 
gignunt, 
id  duxere  deos.     colles,  freta,  flumina,  flammas, 
haec  sibi  per  varias  formata  elementa  figuras 
constituere  patres,  hominumque  vocabula  mutis    300 

^  adscitae  .  .  .  iacentis  Bergman  and  others. 
^  triumphis  Bergman  with  a  number  of  MSS,  including  that 
of  the  1th  century. 


A  REPLY  TO  ADDRESS  OF  SYMMACHUS 

in  the  imperial  embrace  was  robbed  of  his  manhood, 
the  god  Hadrian's  Ganymede,  not  handing  cups  to 
the  gods,  but  reclining  with  Jupiter  on  the  middle 
couch  and  quaffing  the  sacred  liquor  of  ambrosial 
nectar,  and  listening  to  prayers  in  the  temples  with 
his  husband ! 

Such  then  were  they  under  whose  favour  Trajan, 
Ner\-a,  Severus,  Titus,  and  the  brave  Neros  waged 
their  wars !  Earthly  glory  made  these  men  famous 
and  mortal  valour  raised  them  to  the  heights  of 
reno\vn  while  they  lay  under  the  power  of  a  super- 
stition adopted  from  the  earth.  How  shameful 
that  such  men  as  they  should  have  been  persuaded 
to  believe  that  they  themselves  and  the  armies  of 
Rome  could  be  directed  by  the  passion  of  Mars ; 
that  adulterer,  for  no  good  end,  making  himself 
agreeable  to  the  Lady  of  Paphos  and  courting  her 
favour  by  heaping  victories  on  the  seed  of  Aeneas, 
his  descendants !  Happy  had  they  been  had  they 
kno\^'n  that  all  their  successes  were  ordered  by  the 
governance  of  the  God  Christ,  whose  \W11  it  was 
that  kingdoms  should  run  their  appointed  courses 
and  the  triumphs  of  Rome  grow  from  more  to  more, 
and  that  He  should  enter  the  world  in  the  fulness  of 
time.  But  they  made  sacrifice  of  their  darkened, 
blinded  souls  in  the  sanctuaries  of  Jupiter  and 
Augustus,  the  temples  of  the  two  Junos,  the  shrines 
of  Mars  and  Venus,  and  plunged  them  into  the  foul 
abyss  of  death,  supposing  supreme  power  to  reside 
in  the  gross  parts  of  the  world  and  to  be  established 
in  the  sunken  depths  of  the  universe. 

Every  mar\el  that  earth  or  ocean  produces  they      / 
held  a  god.    Hills,  seas,  rivers,  fire,  all  these  elements, 
shaped   into   diverse   figures,   our  sires   set   up   for 
themselves,  and  inscribed  names  of  persons  on  dumb 

373 


PRUDENTIUS 

scripserunt  statuis,  vel  Neptunum  vocitantes 
oceanum,  vel  Cyaneas  cava  flumina  Nymphas, 
vel  silvas  Dryadas,  vel  devia  rura  Napaeas. 
ipse  ignis,  nostrum  factus  qui  ser\'it  ad  usum, 
Vulcanus  perhibetur  et  in  virtute  superna  305 

fingitur  ac  delubra,  deus  et  nomine  et  ore 
adsimilatus,  habet,  necnon  regnare  caminis 
fertur  et  Aeoliae  summus  faber  esse  vel  Aetnae. 
est  qui  conspicuis  superos  quaesivit  in  astris, 
ausus  habere  deum  solem ;  cui  tramite  certo         310 
condicio  inposita  est  vigilem  tolerare  laborem 
visibus  obiectum  mortalibus,  orbe  rotundo 
praecipitem  teretique  globo  per  inane  volantem 
et,  quod  nemo  negat,  mundo  caeloque  minorem. 
area  maior  enim  quam  qui  pereurrit  in  ilia,  315 

et  longe  campi  spatium  difFusius  in  quo 
emicat  ac  volucri  fervens  rota  volvitur  axe. 
quamvis  nonnullis  placeat  terram  breviorem 
dicere  circuitu  quam  sit  pulcherrimus  ille 
circulus,  et  flammas  inmensi  sideris  ultra  320  •■ 

telluris  normam  porrecto  extendere  gyro, 
numne  etiam  caeli  minor  et  contractior  orbis, 
cuius  planitiem  longo  transmittere  tractu 
circinus  excurrens  meta  interiore  laborat  ? 
ille  Deus  verus,  quo  non  est  grandior  ulla  325 

materies,  qui  fine  caret,  qui  praesidet  omni 
naturae,  qui  cuncta  simul  concludit  et  inplet. 
solem  certa  tenet  regio,  plaga  certa  coercet, 
temporibus  variis  distinguitur  :   aut  subit  ortu 

374 


A  REPLY  TO  ADDRESS  OF  SYMMACHUS 

statues,  calling,  for  instance,  the  ocean  Neptune, 
rivers  in  their  beds  Cyanean  Nymphs,  woodlands 
Dryads,  sequestered  spots  Napaeas.  The  very  fire, 
a  created  thing  in  the  service  of  our  needs,  is  called 
Vulcan  and  fashioned  with  the  attributes  of  divine 
power.  Represented  as  a  god  in  name  and  features, 
it  has  shrines  and  is  said  to  rule  over  furnaces  and 
to  be  High  Chief  Smith  of  Aeolia  or  Etna."  Some 
have  sought  to  find  divinities  in  the  shining  stars 
and  dared  to  count  the  sun  a  god ;  *  yet  he  has  laid 
on  him  the  necessity  of  keeping  up  his  sleepless  toil 
before  the  eyes  of  men  in  a  fixed  path,  hurrying  on 
his  circular  orbit  and  flying  through  space  in  the 
form  of  a  round  ball  and,  as  none  gainsays,  smaller 
in  size  than  the  universe  and  the  heavens ;  for  the 
running-ground  is  larger  than  the  runner,  and  far 
wider  than  the  chariot  is  the  race-course  on  which 
the  glowing  wheel  flashes  as  it  turns  on  its  flying 
axle.  Though  some  hold  that  the  earth  is  shorter 
in  circumference  than  is  that  noble  circle,  and  that 
the  vast  star's  fires  spread  over  a  ring  that  is  ^\■ider 
than  the  measure  of  the  world,  yet  is  the  circle  of 
the  heavens  also  smaller  and  more  confined,  whose 
surface  a  compass,  stretching  out  from  its  inner 
mark,  for  all  its  long  reach  is  taxed  to  cross  ?  He  is 
the  true  God,  than  whom  no  material  thing  is  greater, 
who  is  without  limit,  who  governs  all  nature  and  at 
once  bounds  and  fills  all  things.  The  sun  is  held  in 
a  fixed  region,  confined  to  a  fixed  quarter,  and  its 
course  is  marked  off  by  differences  of  time :   it  rises 

'  Cf.  Aeneid  VIII,  416^22. 

'  The  worship  of  Sol  Invictiis  held  a  dominating  position 
from  the  third  century  to  the  fall  of  paganism.  See  Bailey, 
Phases  in  the  Religion  of  Ancient  Rome,  pp.  259-261. 

375 


PRUDENTIUS 

aut  ruit  occasu,  latet  aut  sub  nocte  recurrens;       330 
nee  torquere  facem  potis  est  ad  signa  trionum 
orbe  nee  obliquo  portas  aquilonis  adire 
nee  solitum  conversus  iter  revocare  retrorsum. 
hie  erit  ergo  deus,  praescriptis  lege  sub  una 
deditus  officiis  ?     libertas  laxior  ipsi  335 

concessa  est  homini,  formam  cui  flectere  vitae 
atque  voluntatis  licitum  est,  seu  tramite  dextro 
seandere  seu  laevo  malit  decurrere  campo, 
sumere  seu  requiem  seu  continuare  laborem, 
seu  parere  Deo  sive  in  contraria  verti.  340 

ista  ministranti  regimen  solemne  dierum 
haudquaquam  soli  datur  a  factore  potestas, 
sed  famulus  subiectus  agit  quodcumque  necesse 

est. 
hoc  sidus  currum  rapidasque  agitare  quadrigas 
commenti  et  radios  capitis  et  verbera  dextrae,      345 
et  frenos  phalerasque  et  equorum  pectora  anhela 
aeris  inaurati  vel  marmoris  aut  orichalci 
iusserunt  nitido  fulgere  polita  metallo. 
post    trabeas   et   eburnam    aquilam   sellamque 

curulem 
cernuat  ora  senex  barbatus  et  oscula  figit  350 

cruribus  aenipedum,  si  fas  est  credere,  equorum, 
inmotasque  rotas  et  flecti  nescia  lora 
aut  ornat  redimita  rosis  aut  ture  vaporat. 

hoc    tamen   utcumque   est   tolerabile.     quid, 

quod  et  ipsae 
dant  tibi,  Roma,  deos  inferni  gurgitis  umbrae  ?      355 
Eumenidum  domina  Stygio  caput  exerit  antro 
rapta  ad  tartarei  thalamum  Proserpina  regis, 
et,  si  quando  suos  dignatur  adire  Quirites, 
placatur  vaccae  sterilis  cervice  resecta, 

376  I 


I 


A  REPLY  TO  ADDRESS  OF  SYMMACHUS 

at  morning,  sinks  at  eventide,  is  hidden  in  the  night 
on  its  returning  path.  It  cannot  divert  its  torch 
towards  the  constellation  of  the  Wain,  nor  with  its 
orbit  sideways  approach  the  gates  of  the  north  -s^-ind, 
nor  turn  about  and  reverse  its  wonted  course.  Shall 
this  be  a  god,  then,  this  sun  which  by  unvarying  law 
is  assigned  to  appointed  functions  ?  A  \\ider  free- 
dom has  been  granted  even  to  man,  for  he  may 
change  the  shape  of  his  hfe  and  will,  whether  he 
choose  to  ascend  by  the  path  on  the  right  or  go  do^vn 
over  the  champaign  on  the  left,  to  take  rest  or 
carry  on  his  task,  to  obey  God  or  turn  the  other 
way.  This  power  is  not  given  by  its  creator  to  the 
sun  in  its  conduct  of  the  routine  of  the  days ;  it  is 
as  ser\-ant  and  subordinate  that  it  does  what  it  can- 
not choose  but  do.  Such  is  the  star  which  men  have 
imagined  dri\'ing  his  car  and  s^Wft  team,  and  have 
made  the  rays  about  his  head,  the  whip  in  his  hand, 
the  bridles  and  trappings  and  panting  breasts  of  his 
horses  flash  bright  in  shining  figures  of  gilded  bronze 
or  marble  or  orichalc.  After  he  has  worn  robes  of 
state,  held  the  ivory  eagle,  and  sat  on  the  curule 
chair,  a  bearded  old  man  bends  his  face  to  earth 
and  plants  kisses  (it  is  all  but  incredible  !)  on  the  legs 
of  bronze-footed  horses,  and  decks  ^vith  wreaths  of 
roses,  or  smokes  ^\^th  incense,  wheels  that  cannot 
turn  and  reins  that  cannot  bend. 

This,  however,  we  might  contrive  to  bear.  But 
even  the  shades  in  the  gulf  below  give  thee  gods, 
O  Rome.  The  mistress  of  the  Furies,  Proserpina, 
she  who  was  carried  off  to  be  the  bride  of  the  king 
of  hell,  lifts  her  head  from  the  Stygian  cavern,  and 
when  she  deigns  to  \isit  her  Romans  is  propitiated 
by  cutting  the  throat  of  a  barren  heifer.     She  is 

377 


PRUDENTIUS 

et  regnare  simul  caeloque  Ereboque  putatur,         360 
nunc  bigas  frenare  boves,  nunc  saeva  sororum 
agmina  vipereo  superis  inmittere  flagro, 
nunc  etiam  volucres  caprearum  in  terga  sagittas 
spargere,  terque  suas  eadem  variare  figuras. 
denique  cum  Luna  est,  sublustri  splendet  amictu ;  365 
cum  succincta  iacit  calamos,  Latonia  virgo  est ; 
cum  subnixa  sedet  solio,  Plutonia  coniunx 
imperitat  Furiis  et  dictat  iura  Megaerae. 
si  verum  quaeris,  Triviae  sub  nomine  daemon 
tartareus  colitur,  qui  te  modo  raptat  ad  aethram  370 
sidereoque  deum  venerandum  suadet  in  astro, 
per  silvas  modo  mortiferi  discurrere  mundi 
erroresque  sequi  subigit  nemorumque  putare 
esse  deam,  quae  corda  hominum  pavitantia  figat 
quaeque  feras  perimat  letali  vulnere  mentes,         375 
depressos  modo  subter  humum  formidine  sensus 
obruit,  inplorent  ut  numina  lucis  egena 
seque  potestati  committant  noctis  opertae. 

respice  terrifici  scelerata  sacraria  Ditis, 
cui  cadit  infausta  fusus  gladiator  harena,  380 

heu,  male  lustratae  Phlegethontia  victima  Romae ! 
nam  quid  vesani  sibi  vult  ars  inpia  ludi  ? 
quid    mortes    iuvenum  ?    quid    sanguine    pasta 

voluptas  ? 
quid  pulvis  caveae  semper  funebris,  et  ilia 
amphitheatralis  spectacula  tristia  pompae  ?  385 

nempe  Charon  iugulis  miserorum  se  duce  dignas 

•  Cf.  Aeneid  VI,  243-251. 

*  Proserpina  was  confused  with  Hecate  (Trivia),  who  was 
also  identified  with  Luna  and  Diana  (Latonia  virgo). 

"  Herself  one  of  the  Furies. 

■*  The  exhibition  began  with  a  procession  of  the  gladiators 
through  the  arena. 

378  I 


1 


A  REPLY  TO  ADDRESS  OF  SYMMACHUS 

supposed  to  reign  both  in  heaven  and  in  hell,"  now 
to  drive  a  pair  of  oxen,  again  with  a  whip  of  snakes 
to  let  loose  the  cruel  columns  of  her  sisters  on  the 
world  above,  and  again  to  shower  flying  arrows  on 
the  backs  of  wild  goats,  thrice  changing  her  form 
yet  still  the  same.*  And  when  she  is  the  moon- 
goddess  she  shines  in  a  shimmering  mantle ;  when 
she  girds  herself  up  to  shoot  her  arrows  she  is 
Latona's  maiden  daughter ;  when  she  sits  supported 
on  her  throne  she  is  Pluto's  sjxjuse,  ruling  over  the 
Furies  and  issuing  commands  to  Megaera/  If  you 
seek  the  truth,  it  is  a  dcNal  from  hell  that  is  wor-  / 
shipped  under  the  name  of  Trivia,  one  that  now 
carries  you  off  to  the  skies  and  tells  you  there  is  a 
god  to  be  worshipped  in  the  form  of  a  star  in  the 
heavens,  again  compels  you  to  run  about  and 
about  on  the  mazy  forest-paths  of  the  deadly  world 
and  to  think  there  is  a  goddess  of  the  woodlands 
who  pierces  men's  trembling  hearts  and  with  a 
mortal  wound  slays  their  wild  spirits,  and  again 
plunges  your  mind  beneath  the  ground  and  over- 
whelms it  with  fear,  to  make  it  pray  to  spirits  of 
darkness  and  commit  itself  to  the  power  of  black 
night. 

Look  at  the  crime-stained  offerings  to  frightful 
Dis,  to  whom  is  sacrificed  the  gladiator  laid  low  on 
the  ill-starred  arena,  a  victim  offered  to  Phlegethon 
in  misconceived  expiation  for  Rome.  For  what 
means  that  senseless  show  with  its  exhibition  of 
sinful  skill,  the  killing  of  young  men,  the  pleasure 
fed  on  blood,  the  deathly  dust  that  ever  enshrouds 
the  spectators,  the  grim  sight  of  the  parade  in  the 
amphitheatre  ?  **  \Miy,  Charon  by  the  murder  of 
these  poor  wretches  receives  offerings  that  pay  for 

379 


PRUDENTIUS       . 

accipit  inferias  placatus  crimine  sacro. 
hae  sunt  deliciae  lovis  infernalis,  in  istis 
arbiter  obscuri  placidus  requiescit  Averni. 
nonne  pudet  regem  populum  sceptrisque  poten- 

tem  390 

talia  pro  patriae  censere  litanda  salute, 
religionis  opem  subternis  poscere  ab  antris  ? 
evocat,  heu,  poenis  tenebrosa  ex  sede  ministrum 
interitus,  speciosa  hominum  cui  funera  donet. 
incassum  arguere  iam  Taurica  sacra  solemus :         395 
funditur  humanus  Latiari  in  munere  sanguis, 
consessusque  ille  spectantum  solvit  ad  aram 
Plutonis  fera  vota  sui.     quid  sanctius  ara 
quae  bibit  egestum  per  mystica  tela  cruorem  ? 
anne  fides  dubia  est  tibi  sub  caligine  caeca  400 

esse  deum,  quern  tu  tacitis  rimeris  in  umbris  ? 
ecce,  deos  manes  cur  infitiaris  haberi? 
ipsa  patrum  monumenta  probant :  Dis  Manibus  illic 
marmora  secta  lego,  quacumque  Latina  vetustos 
custodit  cineres  densisque  Salaria  bustis.  405 

die,  quibus  hunc  scribis  titulum,  nisi  quod  trucis 

Orci 
imperium  verae  ceu  maiestatis  adoras  ? 

en  quibus  inplicita  squalebat  regia  summi 
imperii  tractis  maiorum  ab  origine  sacris, 
cum  princeps  gemini  bis  victor  caede  tyranni         410 
pulchra  triumphali  respexit  moenia  vultu. 

"  I.e.  for  taking  the  souls  of  the  dead  across  the  Styx. 

"  Pluto  (Dis). 

«  Greek  mythology  tells  of  human  sacrifice  to  Artemis  in 
the  land  of  the  Tauri  (in  the  Crimea). 

<*  On  this  matter  see  Bailey,  op.  cit.,  pp.  101-102. 

^  Theodosius  had  defeated  first  Maximus  and  then  Eugenius 
with  his  Frankish  general  Arbogast  (Gibbon,  chapter  XXVII). 

380 


I 


A  REPLY  TO   ADDRESS  OF  SYMMACHUS 

his  services  as  guide,"  and  is  propitiated  by  a  crime 
in  the  name  of  religion.  Such  are  the  delights  of 
the  Jupiter  of  the  dead,*  such  the  acts  in  which  the 
ruler  of  dark  Avernus  finds  content  and  refreshment. 
Is  it  not  shameful  that  a  strong  imperial  nation 
thinks  it  needful  to  offer  such  sacrifices  for  its  country  *s 
welfare,  and  seeks  the  help  of  religion  from  the  vaults 
of  hell  ?  With  blood,  alas,  it  calls  up  the  minister  of 
death  from  his  dark  abode  to  present  him  with  a 
splendid  offering  of  dead  men.  Vain  is  now  our 
wonted  condemnation  of  the  Tauric  rites  '^ :  human 
blood  is  shed  at  the  Latin  god's  festival  and  the 
assembled  onlookers  there  pay  savage  offerings  at  the 
altar  of  their  own  Pluto.  What  more  holy  than  an 
altar  which  drinks  blood  drawn  by  ritual  weapons  ? 
Do  you  waver  in  your  belief  that  there  exists,  in  the 
blind  darkness  below,  the  god  for  whom  you  grope 
amid  the  silent  shades  ?  See  there  !  Why  do  you 
deny  that  the  spirits  of  the  dead  are  counted  divine, 
when  your  fathers'  very  monuments  prove  it  ?  I 
read  there  marble  slabs  inscribed  "  To  the  divine 
spirit  of  the  dead,"  wherever  the  Latin  or  the 
Salarian  road  guards  the  old  ashes  in  their  thickly 
planted  tombs."^  Tell  me,  to  whom  do  you  carve 
this  inscription,  but  that  you  revere  the  throne  of 
grim  Orcus  as  though  it  were  the  seat  of  real 
majesty? 

Such  are  the  rites,  drawn  from  the  early  days  of  our 
ancestors,  which  entangled  and  defiled  the  imperial 
abode  of  supreme  power,  when  an  emperor  who 
had  twice  been  victorious  and  slain  two  usurpers,* 
turned  his  eyes  in  triumph  on  her  noble  battlements. 

His  suppression  of  pagan  worships  is  referred  to  in  lines 
496  ff. 

381 


PRUDENTIUS 

nubibus  obsessam  nigrantibus  aspicit  urbem 
noctis  obumbratae  caligine ;  turbidus  aer 
arcebat  liquidum  septena  ex  arce  serenum. 
ingemuit  miserans  et  sic  ait :   "  exue  tristes,  415 

fida  parens,  habitus !   equidem  praedivite  cultu 
inlustrata  cluis  spoliisque  insigne  superbis 
attollis  caput  et  multo  circumfluis  auro ; 
sed  nebulis  propter  volitantibus  obsitus  alti 
verticis  horret  apex,  ipsas  quoque  livida  gemmas  420 
lux  hebetat  spissusque  dies,  et  fumus  ob  ora 
subfusus  rutilum  frontis  diadema  retundit. 
obscuras  video  tibi  circumferrier  umbras 
caeruleasque  animas  atque  idola  nigra  volare. 
censeo  sublimem  tollas  super  aera  vultum  425 

sub  pedibusque  tuis  nimbosa  elementa  relinquas. 
omne  quod  ex  mundo  est  tibi  subiacet ;  hoc  Deus 

ipse 
constituit,  cuius  nutu  dominaris  et  orbi 
imperitas  et  cuncta  potens  mortaha  calcas. 
non  decet  ut  submissa  oculos  regina  caducum        430 
contemplere  solum  maiestatemque  requiras 
circa  humiles  rerum  partes,  quibus  ipsa  superstas. 
non  patiar  veteres  teneas  ut  me  duce  nugas, 
ut  cariosorum  venereris  monstra  deorum. 
si  lapis  est,  senio  dissolvitur  aut  crepat  ictu  435 

percussus  tenui ;  mollis  si  brattea  gypsum 
texerat,  infido  rarescit  glutine  sensim ; 
si  formam  statuae  lamnis  conmisit  aenis 
lima  terens,  aut  in  partem  cava  membra  gravato 
pondere  curvantur,  scabra  aut  aerugo  peresam      440 
conficit  effigiem  crebroque  foramina  rumpit. 
382 

II 


A  REPLY  TO  ADDRESS  OF  SYMMACHUS 

He  looked  at  a  city  beset  with  black  clouds  in  the 
dark  shadow  of  night,  and  the  thick  air  shut  out  the 
clear,  bright  sky  from  the  seven  hills.  In  sorrow 
and  pity  he  addressed  her  thus :  "  Put  off  thy 
gloomy  habit,  faithful  mother.  Renowned  indeed 
art  thou  for  the  exceeding  richness  of  thy  garb ; 
thou  raisest  a  head  ennobled  by  thy  proud  spoils 
and  dost  abound  in  wealth  of  gold.  But  thy  majestic 
crest  is  covered  and  befouled  with  vapours  that  flit 
about  it,  the  leaden  light  and  dense  air  dull  thy 
\ery  jewels,  and  smoke  pouring  over  thy  \isage 
deadens  the  gleam  of  the  diadem  on  thy  brows,  I 
see  murky  shades  moving  around  thee,  dark  spirits 
and  black  idols  flitting  about  thee.  I  counsel  thee, 
lift  thy  face  on  high  above  the  air  of  earth  and  leave 
the  stormy  elements  beneath  thy  feet.  The  whole 
world  is  subject  to  thee.  This  is  the  ordinance  of 
God  himself,  by  whose  will  it  is  that  thou  hast  lord- 
ship and  dost  rule  the  world  and  in  thy  might  dost 
plant  thy  foot  on  all  things  mortal.  It  becomes 
thee  not  as  a  queen  to  lower  thine  eyes  and  gaze 
on  the  perishable  earth,  looking  about  for  majesty 
in  the  low  parts  of  the  creation,  over  which  thou 
thyself  dost  stand  superior.  I  shall  not  suffer  thee, 
while  I  am  thy  leader,  to  hold  to  old  idle  notions, 
nor  to  worship  decayed  monstrosities  of  gods.  If  it 
is  stone,  it  perishes  with  age  or  cracks  under  the 
stroke  of  a  light  blow ;  if  it  is  plaster  covered  with 
sheets  of  pliant  metal,  the  cement  proves  treacherous 
and  gaps  gradually  appear;  if  the  smoothing  file 
has  given  the  shape  of  a  statue  to  plates  of  bronze, 
then  either  the  hollow  frame  droops  to  one  side 
with  the  pressure  of  the  weight,  or  a  scurfy  rust  eats 
into  the  image  and  wastes  it,  piercing  it  with  many 

383 


PRUDENTIUS 

nee  tibi  terra  deus,  caeli  nee  sit  deus  astrum, 

nee  deus  oceanus,  nee  vis  quae  subter  operta  est, 

infernis  triste  ob  meritum  damnata  tenebris. 

sed  nee  virtutes  hominum  deus  aut  animarum       445 

spirituumve  vagae  tenui  sub  imagine  formae. 

absit  ut  umbra  deus  tibi  sit  geniusve  locusve, 

aut  deus  aerias  volitans  phantasma  per  auras. 

sint  haec  barbaricis  gentilia  numina  pagis, 

quos  penes  omne  sacrum  est,  quidquid  formido 

tremendum 
suaserit ;   horrificos  quos  prodigialia  cogunt  451 

credere  monstra  deos,  quos  sanguinolentus  edendi 
mos  iuvat,  ut  pinguis  luco  lanietur  in  alto 
victima  visceribus  multa  inter  vina  vorandis. 
at  te,  quae  domitis  leges  ac  iura  dedisti  455 

gentibus,  instituens,  magnus  qua  tenditur  orbis, 
armorum  morumque  feros  mansuescere  ritus, 
indignum  ac  miserum  est  in  religione  tenenda 
hoc  sapere,  inmanes  populi  de  more  ferino 
quod  sapiunt  nuUaque  rudes  ratione  sequuntur.     460 
seu  nos  procinctus  maneat,  seu  pace  quietas 
dictemus  leges,  seu  debellata  duorum 
colla  tyrannorum  media  calcemus  in  urbe, 
agnoscas,  regina,  libens  mea  signa  necesse  est, 
in  quibus  effigies  crucis  aut  gemmata  refulget       465 
aut  longis  solido  ex  auro  praefertur  in  hastis. 
hoc  signo  invictus  transmissis  Alpibus  ultor 
servitium  solvit  miserabile  Constantinus, 
cum  te  pestifera  premeret  Maxentius  aula. 

"  Such  as  Fides,  Pietas,  Concordia. 


A  REPLY  TO  ADDRESS  OF  SYMMACHUS 

a  hole.  Let  not  earth  be  thy  god,  nor  a  star  in  the 
sky,  nor  ocean,  nor  a  power  that  is  buried  below, 
being  condemned  to  infernal  darkness  for  its  ill 
deserts ;  but  neither  make  gods  of  human  wtues," 
nor  unsubstantial  phantoms  that  wander  at  large  in 
the  shape  of  souls  or  spirits.  Far  be  it  from  thee  to 
have  a  ghost  for  thy  god,  or  a  genius*  or  a  place,  or 
an  apparition  that  flits  through  the  breezes  in  the 
air.  Leave  these  heathen  divinities  to  pagan  bar- 
barians ;  with  them  everything  that  fear  has  taught 
them  to  dread  is  held  sacred ;  signs  and  marvels 
compel  them  to  believe  in  frightful  gods,  and  they 
find  satisfaction  in  the  bloody  eating  that  is  their 
custom,  which  makes  them  slaughter  a  fattened 
victim  in  a  lofty  grove  to  devour  its  flesh  ^vith  floods 
of  wine.  But  for  thee,  who  hast  appointed  law  and 
justice  to  the  conquered  nations,  teaching  savage 
ways  of  war  and  hfe,  the  wide  world  o'er,  to  become 
civilised,  it  is  a  sorry  shame  that  in  thy  cUnging  to 
superstition  thy  thoughts  should  be  those  of  bar- 
barous, brutish  peoples  who  adopt  them  in  unreason- 
ing ignorance.  \\'hether  we  must  still  be  ready  for 
battle,  or  are  to  lay  dovvn  laws  in  peace  and  quiet- 
ness, or  to  trample  under  foot  in  the  midst  of  Rome 
the  heads  of  the  two  usui-pers  we  have  vanquished, 
thou  must  needs,  O  queen,  be  ready  to  acknow- 
ledge my  standards,  on  which  the  figure  of  the  cross 
leads  the  van,  either  gleaming  in  jewels  or  fashioned 
of  sohd  gold  on  the  long  shafts.  It  was  this  standard 
that  made  Constantine  invincible  when  he  crossed 
the  Alps  as  a  liberator  and  undid  a  cruel  bondage, 
when  Maxentius  was  oppressing  thee  with  his  baleful 

*  For  the  "  genius  "  and  its  worship  see  Bailey,  op.  cit. 
(index). 

385 
VOL.    I.  O 


PRUDENTIUS 

lugebas  longo  damnatos  carcere  centum,  470 

ut  scis  ipsa,  patres.  aut  sponsus  foedera  pactae 
intercepta  gemens  diroque  satellite  rapta 
inmersus  tenebris  dura  inter  vincla  luebat ; 
aut  si  nupta  torum  regis  conscendere  iussa 
coeperat  inpurum  domini  oblectare  furorem,  475 

morte  maritalis  dabat  indignatio  poenas. 
plena  puellarum  patribus  ergastula  saevi 
principis  ;   abducta  genitor  si  virgine  mussans 
tristius  ingemuit,  non  ille  inpune  dolorem 
prodidit  aut  confessa  nimis  suspiria  traxit.^  480 

testis  Christicolae  ducis  adventantis  ad  urbem 
Mulvius  exceptum  Tiberina  in  stagna  tyrannum 
praecipitans,  quanam  victricia  viderit  arma 
maiestate  regi,  quod  signum  dextera  vindex 
praetulerit,  quali  radiarint  stemmate  pila.  485 

Christus  purpureum  gemmanti  textus  in  auro 
signabat  labarum,  clipeorum  insignia  Christus 
scripserat,  ardebat  summis  crux  addita  cristis. 
ipse  senatorum  meminit  clarissimus  ordo, 
qui  tunc  concrete  processit  crine  catenis  490 

squalens  carcereis  aut  nexus  conpede  vasta, 
conplexusque  pedes  victoris  ad  inclyta  flendo 
procubuit  vexilla  iacens.     tunc  ille  senatus 
militiae  ultricis  titulum  Christique  verendum 

^  After  480  some  MSS.  have  the  line  vim  libertatis  nimiam 
(or  nimiae)  patriumque  dolorem. 

■ "  Constantine  invaded  Italy  from  Gaul  and  defeated 
Maxentius  in  312  (Gibbon,  chapter  XIV).  His  biographer 
Eusebius  was  told  by  him  that  one  afternoon  (probably  on 
his  march  from  Gaul)  he  saw  the  cross  in  the  sky  and  under 
it  the  words  "  By  this  conquer." 

*  Maxentius  was  drowned  while  trying  to  escape  back  into 
Rome  by  way  of  this  bridge  after  his  defeat. 

386 


1 


A  REPLY  TO  ADDRESS  OF  SYMMACHUS 

court."  Thou  wert  mourning  for  a  hundred  of  thy 
senators,  as  thou  thyself  knowest,  condemned  to 
long  imprisonment.  If  a  man  who  was  betrothed 
bemoaned  the  filching  of  his  promised  bride  at  the 
hands  of  some  cursed  minion,  he  would  be  plunged 
in  darkness  and  make  atonement  in  cruel  bonds.  Or 
if  a  bride  had  begun  to  please  the  tyrant's  impure 
passion  and  had  been  commanded  to  go  up  into  the 
royal  bed,  her  husband's  resentment  would  pay  the 
penalty  with  death.  The  cruel  emperor's  prisons 
were  full  of  the  fathers  of  girls.  If  a  sire  murmured 
and  complained  too  bitterly  when  his  daughter  was 
taken  away,  he  was  not  suffered  to  betray  his  anger 
or  heave  too  frank  a  sigh  with  impunity.  The 
Mulvian  bridge,  by  hurling  the  usurper  into  the  waters 
of  the  Tiber  when  he  set  foot  on  it,*  bore  witness  to 
the  divine  power  which  it  saw  directing  the  victorious 
arms  of  the  Christian  general  who  was  approaching 
Rome,  the  standard  which  the  avenging  hand  bore 
at  the  head  of  his  array,  the  emblem  with  which 
the  javelins  gleamed.  The  mark  of  Christ,  wrought 
in  jewelled  gold,  was  on  the  purple  labarum ; " 
Christ  had  drawn  the  bearings  on  the  shields,  and 
the  cross  blazed  on  the  crests  atop.  The  noble  order 
of  senators  remembers.  That  day  it  came  forth  with 
matted  hair,  Umbs  loaded  with  prison  chains,  or 
bound  vnth  a  rough  fetter,  and  clasping  the  victor's 
feet  lay  prostrate  in  tears  before  the  famous  banners. 
That  day  those  senators  did  reverence  to  the  super- 
scription which  the  avenging  army  bore,  the  wor- 

'  The  standard  adopted  by  Constantine,  bearing  a  mono- 
gram of  the  Greek  letters  XP  (=CHR)  representing  the 
name  of  Christ. 

387 


PRUDENTIUS 

nomen  adoravit,  quod  conlucebat  in  armis.  495 

ergo  cave,  egregium  caput  orbis,  inania  post  haec 
prodigia  et  larvas  stolido  ^  tibi  fingere  cultu, 
atque  experta  Dei  virtutem  spernere  veri. 
deponas  iam  festa  velim  puerilia,  ritus 
ridiculos  tantoque  indigna  sacraria  regno.  500 

marmora  tabenti  respergine  tincta  lavate, 
o  proceres :  liceat  statuas  consistere  puras, 
artificum  magnorum  opera :    haec  pulcherrima 

nostrae 
ornamenta  fuant  ^  patriae,  nee  decolor  usus 
in  vitium  versae  monumenta  coinquinet  artis."      505 

talibus  edictis  urbs  informata  refugit 
errores  veteres  et  turbida  ab  ore  vieto 
nubila  discussit,  iam  nobilitate  parata 
aeternas  temptare  vias  Christumque  vocante 
magnanimo   ductore  sequi  et  spem  mittere  in 

aevum.  510 

tunc  primum  senio  docilis  sua  saecula  Roma 
erubuit ;  pudet  exacti  iam  temporis,  odit 
praeteritos  foedis  cum  religionibus  annos. 
mox  ubi,  contiguos  fossis  muralibus  agros 
sanguine  iustorum  innocuo  maduisse  recordans,     515 
invidiosa  videt  tumulorum  millia  circum, 
tristis  iudicii  mage  paenitet  ac  dicionis 
efFrenis  nimiaeque  sacris  pro  turpibus  irae. 
conpensare  cupit  taeterrima  vulnera  laesae 
iustitiae  sero  obsequio  veniaque  petenda ;  520 

ne  tanto  imperio  maneat  pietate  repulsa 
crimen  saevitiae,  monstrata  piacula  quaerit, 

^  prodigia  esse  deos  solito  Bergman  with  MSS.  of  both  classes. 
The  6th-  and  Ith-century  MSS.  are  not  here  available. 
*  fiant  Bergman  with  a  number  of  MSS. 

388 


ll 


A  REPLY  TO  ADDRESS   OF  SYMMACHUS 

shipful  name  of  Christ  which  shone  on  its  arms. 
Beware  then  after  this,  thou  noble  capital  of  the 
world,  of  fashioning  thee  unreal  monstrosities  and 
ghosts  in  senseless  worship,  and  of  scorning  the 
power  of  the  true  God,  now  that  thou  hast  proved 
it.  I  would  have  thee  now  lay  aside  thy  childish 
festivals,  thy  absurd  ceremonies,  thy  offerings  which 
are  unworthy  of  a  realm  so  great.  Wash  ye  the 
marbles  that  are  bespattered  and  stained  with  putrid 
blood,  ye  nobles.  Let  your  statues,  the  works  of 
great  artists,  be  allowed  to  rest  clean ;  be  these  our 
country' 's  fairest  ornaments,  and  let  no  debased 
usage  pollute  the  monuments  of  art  and  turn  it 
into  sin." 

Taught  by  such  proclamations,  Rome  withdrew 
from  her  long-standing  errors  and  shook  the  murky 
clouds  from  her  aged  face,  her  nobles  ready  now  to 
essay  the  everlasting  ways,  to  follow  Christ  at  the 
call  of  their  great-hearted  leader,  and  cast  their 
hopes  into  eternity.  Then  for  the  first  time,  in  her 
old  age,  did  Rome  become  teachable  and  blush  for 
her  long  histor\',  ashamed  of  her  past  and  hating  the 
years  gone  by  \nth  their  foul  superstitions.  Then, 
when  she  recalled  how  the  lands  that  bordered  on 
the  ditches  under  her  walls  had  been  wet  with  the 
innocent  blood  of  the  righteous,  and  saw  around  her 
thousands  of  accusing  tombs,  she  repented  still  more 
of  her  harsh  judgment,  her  unbridled  acts  of  power, 
her  too  great  anger  in  the  cause  of  a  base  religion. 
She  sought  to  make  up  for  the  shocking  wounds  of 
injured  righteousness  by  showing  a  late  obedience 
and  asking  for  pardon.  Lest  her  great  power  lie 
under  the  charge  of  cruelty  because  she  rejected 
goodness,  she  sought  the  prescribed  atonements  and 

389 


PRUDENTIUS 

inque  fidem  Christi  pleno  transfertur  amore. 

laurea  victoris  Marii  minus  utilis  urbi, 

cum  traheret  Numidam  populo  plaudente  lugur- 

tham,  525 

nee  tantum  Arpinas  consul  tibi,  Roma,  medellae 
contulit  extincto  iusta  inter  vincla  Cethego, 
quantum  praecipuus  nostro  sub  tempore  princeps 
prospexit  tribuitque  boni.     multos  Catilinas 
ille  domo  pepulit,  non  saeva  incendia  tectis  530 

aut  sicas  patribus,  sed  Tartara  nigra  animabus 
internoque  hominum  statui  tormenta  parantes. 
errabant  hostes  per  templa,  per  atria  passim, 
Romanumque  forum  et  Capitolia  celsa  tenebant, 
qui  coniuratas  ipsa  ad  vitalia  plebis  535 

moliti  insidias  intus  serpente  veneno 
consuerant  tacitis  pestem  miscere  medullis. 
ergo  triumphator  latitante  ex  hoste  togatus 
clara    tropaea    refert    sine    sanguine,     remque 

Quirini 
adsuescit  supero  pollere  in  saecula  regno.  540 

denique  nee  metas  statuit  nee  tempora  ponit : 
imperium  sine  fine  docet,  ne  Romula  virtus 
iam  sit  anus,  norit  ne  gloria  parta  senectam. 
exultare  patres  videas,  pulcherrima  mundi 
lumina  conciliumque  senum  gestire  Catonum         545 
candidiore  toga  niveum  pietatis  amictum 
sumere  et  exuvias  deponere  pontificales. 
iamque  ruit,  paucis  Tarpeia  in  rupe  relictis, 
ad  sincera  virum  penetralia  Nazareorum 


"  In  his  triumphal  procession,  104  B.C. 
*  Cicero,  who  was  born  at  Arpinum,  suppressed  the  con- 
spiracy of  Catiline,  in  which  Cethegus  was  involved,  in  63 

B.C. 

390  1 


A  REPLY  TO  ADDRESS  OF  SYMMACHUS 

with  entire  love  passed  over  to  faith  in  Christ.  Less 
profitable  to  the  city  was  the  conquering  Marius' 
laurel,  when  he  led  the  Xumidian  Jugurtha  as  a  captive 
amid  the  people's  applause;"  nor  healing  so  great 
did  thy  consul  from  Arpinum*  bring  to  thee,  O  Rome, 
when  he  put  Cethegus  to  death  in  a  well-deserved 
prison,  as  the  blessing  which  a  great  emperor  in  our 
time  planned  and  conferred  on  thee.  Many  a 
Catiline  did  he  banish,  that  was  not  plotting  fierce 
fires  for  thy  houses  nor  daggers  for  thy  senators, 
but  black  hell  for  men's  souls  and  torments  for  the 
life  '\\'ithin  them.  Foes  were  roving  everywhere 
through  temples  and  courts,  holding  possession  of 
the  Roman  Forum  and  the  lofty  Capitol ;  they  had 
conspired  to  contrive  a  treacherous  attack  on  the 
very  vitals  of  thv  people,  with  whose  marrows  thev 
were  wont  secretly  to  mingle  bane,  so  that  the  poison 
spread  stealthily  within  them.  Therefore  in  peace- 
ful triumph  over  his  lurking  foe  he  won  famous, 
bloodless  Wctories,  and  taught  Quirinus'  realm  how 
to  have  power  for  everlasting  in  a  supremacy  that 
is  from  heaven.  No  bounds  indeed  did  he  set,  no 
limits  of  time  did  he  lay  down.  L'nending  sway  he 
taught,  so  that  the  valour  of  Rome  should  never 
grow  old  nor  the  glorj-  she  had  won  know  age. 

The  fathers  were  to  be  seen  leaping  for  joy,  the 
world's  noblest  ornaments,  that  assemblage  of  old 
Catos  "  eager  to  put  on,  with  whiter  toga,  the  snowy 
robe  of  holiness,  and  cast  off  their  priestly  vestments. 
And  now,  lea^^ng  but  a  few  on  the  Tarpeian  rock, 
to  the  pure  sanctuaries  of  the  men  of  Nazareth  and 

'  M.  Porcius  Cato,  the  republican  stalwart  of  Julius  Caesar's 
time  and  great-grandson  of  the  famous  censor  of  184  B.C., 
became  a  type  of  high  principle  and  strict  conduct. 


PRUDENTIUS 

atque  ad  apostolicos  Evandria  curia  fontes,  550 

Anniadum  suboles  et  pignera  clara  Proborum. 
fertur  enim  ante  alios  generosus  Anicius  urbis 
inlustrasse  caput :   sic  se  Roma  inclyta  iactat. 
quin  et  Olybriaci  generisque  et  nominis  heres, 
adiectus  fastis,  palmata  insignis  abolla,  555 

martyris  ante  fores  Bruti  submittere  fasces 
ambit  et  Ausoniam  Christo  inclinare  securem. 
non  Paulinorum,  non  Bassorum  dubitavit 
prompta  fides  dare  se  Christo  stirpemque  superbam 
gentis  patriciae  venture  attollere  saeclo.  560 

iam  quid  plebicolas  percurram  carmine  Gracchos, 
iure  potestatis  fultos  et  in  arce  senatus 
praecipuos,  simulacra  deum  iussisse  revelli 
cumque  suis  pariter  lictoribus  omnipotenti 
suppliciter  Christo  se  consecrasse  regendos  ?  565 

sescentas  numerare  domos  de  sanguine  prisco 
nobilium  licet  ad  Christi  signacula  versas 
turpis  ab  idolii  vasto  emersisse  profundo. 
si  persona  aliqua  est  aut  si  status  urbis,  in  his  est ; 
si  formam  patriae  facit  excellentior  ordo,  570 

hi  faciunt  iuncta  est  quotiens  sententia  plebis 
atque  unum  sapiunt  plures  simul  et  potiores. 
respice  ad  inlustrem,  lux  est  ubi  publica,  cellam : 


"  I.e.  an  institution  dating  from  the  very  earliest  stage  of 
Roman  history.     Cf.  note  on  226. 

*  The  names  mentioned  in  these  lines  represent  prominent 
noble  families  of  the  time.  The  Gracchi  (561)  are  called 
plebicolae  in  allusion  to  the  tribunes  Tiberius  and  Gains 
Gracchus  of  the  2nd  century  B.C. 

'  The  privilege  of  wearing  the  toga  picta  and  tunica  palmata 
had  belonged  in  republican  times  to  generals  celebrating 
triumphs.  The  later  phrase  toga  palmata  (Martial  VII,  2,  8, 
etc.),  if  it  is  not  used  to  designate  the  costume  as  a  whole, 


A   REPLY  TO  ADDRESS  OF  SYMMACHUS 

the  baptismal  waters  of  the  apostles  hastens 
Evander's  "  senate,  the  descendants  of  the  family 
of  Annius  *  and  the  illustrious  children  of  the  Probi. 
For  it  is  said  that  a  noble  Anicius  before  all  others 
shed  lustre  on  the  cit>-'s  head  (so  famed  Rome 
boasts  herself),  and  the  inheritor  of  the  blood  and 
name  of  Olybrius,  though  he  was  entered  on  the 
Register  of  Consuls  and  enjoyed  the  glorj'  of  the 
palm-figured  robe,"  was  eager  to  lower  Brutus'  rods  ^ 
before  a  martyr's  doors  and  humble  the  Ausonian 
axe  to  Christ.  The  quick  faith  of  a  PauUnus  and  a 
Bassus  did  not  hesitate  to  surrender  to  Christ  and 
to  Uft  up  the  proud  stock  of  a  patrician  clan  to  meet 
the  age  that  was  to  come.  It  were  needless  in  my 
song  to  tell  the  tal3  of  how  the  house  of  the  Gracchi, 
those  friends  of  the  people,  supported  by  the 
authority  of  office  and  holding  distinguished  rank  in 
the  high  place  of  the  senate,  commanded  the  images 
of  gods  to  be  pulled  dowTi,  and  along  ^^ith  their 
Hctors  dedicated  themselves  humbly  to  the  all- 
powerful  Christ  to  be  ruled  henceforth  by  Him.  We 
may  count  hundreds  of  families  of  old  noble  blood 
who  turned  to  the  sign  of  Christ  and  raised  them- 
selves out  of  the  vast  abyss  of  base  idolatry.  If 
there  is  any  embodiment  of  the  city  and  its  being, 
it  is  in  these.  If  it  is  the  higher  order  of  men  that 
give  their  country  its  character,  these  do  so,  when 
the  people's  will  unites  with  theirs  and  the  majority 
and  the  better  are  of  one  mind.  Look  at  the  illus- 
trious chamber  where  sit  the  nation's  luminaries : 

would  imply  that  the  palm-embroidery  appeared  on  the  toga 
also.     This  was  now  the  official  dress  of  consuls. 

'  The  fasces  of  the  consuls  are  here  attributed  to  Brutus 
because  he  was  the  traditional  founder  of  the  republic,  in 
which  the  two  yearly  consuls  took  the  place  of  the  king. 

393 


PRUDENTIUS 

vix  pauca  invenies  gentilibus  obsita  nugis 
ingenia,  obtritos  aegre  retinentia  cultus,  575 

et  quibus  exactas  placeat  servare  tenebras 
splendentemque  die  medio  non  cernere  solem. 
posthinc  ad  populum  converte  oculos.     quota 
pars  est 
quae  lovis  infectam  sanie  non  despuat  aram  ? 
omnis  qui  celsa  scandit  cenacula  vulgus  580 

quique  terit  silieem  variis  discursibus  atram 
et  quern  panis  alit  gradibus  dispensus  ab  altis, 
aut  \^aticano  tumulum  sub  monte  frequentat, 
quo  cinis  ille  latet  genitoris  amabilis  obses, 
coetibus  aut  magnis  Lateranas  currit  ad  aedes,     585 
unde  saex'um  referat  regali  chrismate  signum, 
et  dubitamus  adhuc  Romam  tibi,  Christe,  dicatam 
in  leges  transisse  tuas  omnique  volentem 
cum  populo  et  summis  cum  civdbus  ardua  magni 
lam  super  astra  poli  terrenum  extendere  regnum  ?  590 
nee  moveor  quod  pars  hominum  rarissima  clauses 
non  aperit  sub  luce  oculos  et  gressibus  errat. 
quamlibet  inlustres  meritis  et  sanguine  clari 
praemia  virtutum  titulis  et  honoribus  aucti 
ardua  rettulerint  fastorumque  arce  potiti  595 

annales  proprio  signarint  nomine  chartas, 
atque  inter  veteres  cera  numerentur  et  aere, 


"  Centres  at  which  the  distribution  was  made  were  called 
"  gradus."  From  the  time  of  the  emperor  Aurelian  (270-275) 
it  was  in  the  form  of  bread,  not  grain. 

*  St.  Peter. 

"  This  house,  over  the  site  of  which  stands  the  church 
St.  John  Lateran,  almost  certainly  belonged  to  the  Plauti 
Lateranus  who  was  condemned  in  65  for  conspiring  against 
Nero.  Constantine  gave  it  to  the  Church  in  313  and  it  WM 
for  some  time  the  official  residence  of  the  popes  (Platner- 

394 


i 

vui 


A  REPLY  TO  ADDRESS  OF  SYMMACHUS 

hardly  will  you  find  a  few  minds  still  beset  with 
pagan  vanities  and  clinging  feebly  to  their  sup- 
pressed worships,  who  would  keep  the  darkness  that 
has  been  banished  and  refuse  to  see  the  noon-day 
brightness  of  the  sun. 

Now  turn  your  eyes  to  the  people.  How  small 
the  fraction  that  does  not  loathe  Jupiter's  blood- 
stained altar!  All  the  multitude  that  climb  aloft 
to  their  garrets,  that  wear  the  black  pavement  with 
their  various  comings  and  goings,  and  are  fed  with 
the  bread  that  is  dispensed  from  the  high  steps," 
either  crowd  to  the  tomb  at  the  foot  of  the  Vatican 
hill,  where  Ue  in  pledge  the  famed  ashes  of  their 
father,*  so  worthy  of  their  love,  or  hasten  in  great 
companies  to  the  house  of  Lateranus  "  to  get  the 
holy  sign  of  the  King's  anointing.  And  do  we  still 
hesitate  to  believe  that  Rome,  O  Christ,  has  devoted 
herself  to  Thee  and  placed  herself  under  thy  govern- 
ance, and  that  with  all  her  people  and  her  greatest 
citizens  she  is  now  eagerly  extending  her  earthly 
realm  beyond  the  lofty  stars  of  the  great  firmament  ? 
I  am  not  disturbed  because  some  men  but  here  and 
there  keep  their  eyes  closed  and  will  not  open  them 
in  the  light  of  day,  so  that  they  wander  in  their 
steps.  Famed  as  they  are  for  their  services  and 
noble  in  descent,  though  they  have  won  high  reward 
for  their  merits  in  promotion  to  dignity  and  office, 
though  they  have  attained  the  supreme  height  of 
the  Register  and  marked  with  their  names  the  record 
of  the  years,**  and  in  wax  or  bronze  figure  among 

Ashby,  Topographical  Dictionary  of  Ancient  Rome,  p.  183). 
Evidently  there  was  a  church  connected  with  it. 

■*  I.e.  have  been  "  consules  ordinarii,"  so  that  the  years  are 
dated  by  their  consulships. 

395 


PRUDENTIUS 

attamen  in  paucis,  iam  deficiente  caterva, 
nee  persona  sita  est  patriae  nee  curia  constat ; 
et  quodcumque  fovent  studii  privata  voluntas        600 
ac  iam  rara  tenet,  sed  publica  vota  reclamant 
dissensu  celebri  trepidum  damnantia  murmur, 
si  consulta  patrum  subsistere  conscriptorum 
non  aliter  licitum  prisco  sub  tempore,  quam  si 
ter  centum  sensisse  senes  legerentur  in  unum,       605 
servemus  leges  patrias  :  infirma  minoris 
vox  cedat  numeri  parvaque  in  parte  silescat. 
aspice  quam  pleno  subsellia  nostra  senatu 
decernant  infame  lovis  pulvinar  et  omne 
idolium  longe  purgata  ex  urbe  fugandum.  610 

qua  vocat  egregii  sententia  principis,  illuc 
libera  cum  pedibus  tum  corde  frequentia  transit, 
nee  locus  invidiae  est,  nullum  vis  aspera  terret ; 
ante  oculos  sic  velle  patet  cunctique  probatum, 
non  iussum,  sola  capti  ratione  sequuntur.  615 

denique  pro  meritis  terrestribus  aequa  rependens 
munera  sacricolis  summos  inpertit  honores 
dux  bonus  et  certare  sinit  cum  laude  suorum, 
nee  pago  inplicitos  per  debita  culmina  mundi 
ire  viros  prohibet,  quoniam  caelestia  numquam      620 
terrenis  solitum  per  iter  gradientibus  obstant. 
ipse  magistratum  tibi  consulis,  ipse  tribunal 
contulit  auratumque  togae  donavit  amictum, 
cuius  religio  tibi  displicet,  o  pereuntum 

"  The  argument  is  put  in  a  curious  way,  but  seems  to  be 
that  a  majority  was  required,  and  the  Christians  now  have  it. 
Augustus  {prisco  sub  tempore)  fixed  the  number  of  senators 
at  600.  On  the  strength  of  the  Christian  and  pagan  parties 
in  the  senate  at  the  time  of  Symmachus'  petition,  see  Boissier, 
La  Fin  du  Paganisme  II,  pp.  271-2;  Dill,  pp.  4,  29,  36-7. 

*  The  words  refer  to  the  procedure  in  taking  a  division  in 
the  senate  ("  discessio  "). 

39^ 


A  REPLY  TO  ADDRESS  OF  SYMMACHUS 

the  men  of  old,  yet  it  is  not  a  small  number,  who 
have  lost  their  following,  who  represent  their  country 
and  constitute  the  senate.  The  attachment  they 
cherish  is  maintained  only  by  the  A\ill  of  individuals, 
and  those  now  few  and  far  between ;  the  nation's 
wishes  oppose  them  and  with  multitudinous  dissent 
condemn  their  restless  murmuring.  If  in  olden  days 
the  decrees  of  the  conscript  fathers  could  only  stand 
if  it  was  on  record  that  three  hundred  senators  were 
agreed,*  let  us  keep  to  our  fathers'  laws :  let  the 
minority's  feeble  voice  give  way  and  fall  silent  in 
their  little  section. 

See  in  how  full  a  house  our  benches  decide  that 
Jupiter's  infamous  couch  and  all  the  worship  of  idols 
must  be  banished  far  from  our  purified  city !  To 
the  side  to  which  our  noble  emperor's  motion  calls, 
great  numbers  cross,*  as  free  in  mind  as  in  foot. 
No  room  is  there  for  odium ;  none  is  intimidated  by 
rude  force ;  it  is  clear  to  see  that  such  is  their  wiW ; 
all  are  convinced  by  reason  alone  and  follow  their 
own  judgment,  not  a  command.  And  our  good 
leader,  requiting  earthly  services  with  equal  rewards, 
gives  to  the  worshippers  of  idols  a  share  of  the  highest 
dignities,  allows  them  to  vie  with  the  repute  of  their 
families,  and  forbids  not  to  men  who  are  still  in  the 
coils  of  paganism  a  career  in  the  topmost  worldly 
ranks  when  they  have  deserX-ed  them,  since  the 
things  of  heaven  never  prevent  men  of  earth  from 
passing  along  the  accustomed  ways.  It  is  he  that 
conferred  on  thee "  the  office  of  consul  and  the 
judgment-seat,  and  gave  thee  the  gold-wrought  toga 
to  wear,  he  whose  religion  does  not  win  thy  favour, 

*  Symmachus. 

397 


PRUDENTIUS 

adsertor  divum,  solus  qui  restituendos  625 

Vulcani  Martisque  dolos  Venerisque  peroras 

Saturnique  senis  lapides  Phoebique  furores, 

Iliacae  matris  Megalesia,  Bacchica  Nysi, 

Isidis  amissum  semper  plangentis  Osirim 

mimica  ridendaque  suis  soUemnia  calvis,  630 

et  quascumque  solent  Capitolia  claudere  larvas. 

O  linguam  miro  vei-borum  fonte  fluentem, 
Romani  decus  eloquii,  cui  cedat  et  ipse 
TuUius  !   has  fundit  dives  facundia  gemmas  ! 
OS  dignum  aeterno  tinetum  quod  fulgeat  auro        635 
si  mallet  laudare  Deum  !  cui  sordida  monstra 
praetulit  et  liquidam  temeravit  crimine  vocem, 
haud  aliter  quam,  si  rastris  quis  temptet  eburnis 
caenosum  versare  solum,  limoque  madentes 
exeolere  aureolis  si  forte  ligonibus  ulvas,  640 

splendorem  dentis  nitidi  scrobis  inquinat  atra, 
et  pretiosa  acies  squalenti  sordet  in  arvo. 

non  vereor  ne  me  nimium  confidere  quisquam 
arguat  ingeniique  putet  luctamen  inire. 
sum  memor  ipse  mei,  satis  et  mea  frivola  novi ;     645 
non  ausim  conferre  pedem  nee  spicula  tantae 
indocilis  fandi  coniecta  lacessere  linguae, 
inlaesus  maneat  liber  exeellensque  volumen 
obtineat  partam  dicendi  fulmine  famam. 
sed  liceat  tectum  servare  a  vulnere  pectus  650 


"  Primitive  legend  said  that  Kronos  (Saturn),  having  been 
warned    that    one    of   his    children    would    overthrow    himj 
swallowed  them  as  they  were  born,  but  in  place  of  the  youngest,! 
Zeus  (Jupiter),  Rhea  substituted  a  stone.  i 

''  The  ludi  Megalenses  held  in  honour  of  the  Magna  Mater, 
Iliacae  =  Phrygian.     Cf.  187. 

'  Bacchus  (Dionysus)  is  associated  with  a  legendary  moun- 
tain called  Nysa. 

308 


A  REPLY  TO  ADDRESS  OF  SYMMACHUS 

thou  upholder  of  gods  outworn,  who  alone  dost 
plead  for  the  restoration  of  those  tricks  of  Vulcan 
and  Mars  and  Venus,  old  Saturn's  stones "  and 
Phoebus'  prophetic  frenzies,  the  Ihan  Mother's 
Megalesian  festival,*  the  Bacchic  rites  of  the  Nysian 
god,"^  the  farcical  ceremonies  of  Isis  ever  mourning 
for  her  lost  Osiris,**  which  even  her  ovm  bald-heads 
must  laugh  at,  and  all  the  gobUns  which  the  Capitol 
by  custom  keeps  within  it. 

How  marvellous  the  stream  of  speech  that  flows 
from  that  tongue,  the  glory  of  Roman  eloquence, 
surpassing  even  Tullius  himself  I  Yet  these  are  the 
jewels  its  rich  fluency  pours  forth!  Lips  worthy  to 
be  bathed  in  the  unfading  sheen  of  gold,  if  only 
they  would  rather  have  praised  God !  But  to  Him 
they  have  preferred  unclean  monstrosities  and 
polluted  their  clear  voice  with  sin, — ^just  as,  if  a  man 
should  set  himself  to  work  the  miry  soil  with  a  rake 
of  ivory,  or  till  sodden,  muddy  ground  A^ith  a  golden 
fork,  the  black  soil  befouls  the  brightness  of  the 
shining  prongs,  the  sharp  tool  that  cost  so  much  is 
defiled  by  the  dirty  earth. 

I  have  no  fear  that  any  man  may  charge  me  with 
over-confidence  and  imagine  that  I  am  entering  upon 
a  contest  of  mental  powers.  I  do  not  forget 
who  I  am,  I  know  my  paltry  gifts  well  enough  and 
would  not  venture  to  join  battle,  nor  with  my  Httle 
skill  in  speech  to  challenge  the  darts  which  that 
great  tongue  shoots.  Let  his  book  rest  unattacked, 
his  surpassing  work  keep  the  fame  it  has  earned  by 
its  flashing  eloquence.  But  let  me  be  allowed  to 
cover  my  breast  and  save  it  from  hurt,  and  with  my 

"^  See  Bailey,  op.  cit.,  pp.  186  5.  The  priests  and  the  inner 
circle  of  devotees  of  Isis  had  their  heads  shaven. 

399 


PRUDENTIUS 

oppositaque  volans  iaculum  depellere  parma. 
nam  si  nostra  fides,  saeclo  iam  tuta  quieto, 
viribus  infestis  hostilique  arte  petita  est, 
cur  mihi  fas  non  sit  lateris  sinuamine  flexi 
ludere  ventosas  iactu  pereunte  sagittas  ? 

sed  iam  tempus  iter  longi  cohibere  libelli, 
ne  tractum  sine  fine  ferat  fastidia  carmen. 


400 


A  REPLY  TO  ADDRESS  OF  SYMMACHUS 

shield  to  meet  and  turn  aside  the  flying  javelin. 
For  if  our  faith,  after  reaching  safety  in  an  age  of 
peace,  is  attacked  with  hostile  forces  and  all  an 
enemy's  skill,  why  should  it  not  be  right  for  me  to 
bend  and  turn  and  parry  the  shafts  so  that  the 
shots  are  vain  and  ineffectual? 

But  my  book  is  gro^^ing  long;  it  is  time  now  to 
halt  its  march,  lest  my  song  be  drawn  out  endlessly 
and  bring  disgust. 


401 

VOL.  I.  P 


Printed  in  Great  Britain  by 

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THE   LOEB   CLASSICAL 
LIBRARY 

VOLUMES   ALREADY   PUBLISHED 

Latin  Authors 

Ammiancs  Makceixinus.     Translated  by  J.  C.  Rolfe.     3  Vols. 

(Vols.  I.  and  II.  2nd  Imp.  revised.) 
ApuiiEFCs  :    The  Golden  Ass  (Metamobphoses).     W.  Adling- 

ton  (1566).     Revised  by  S.  Gaselee.     {7th  Imp.) 
St.  AugcstesE,  Confessioxs  of.     W.  Watts  (1631).     2  Vols. 

(Vol.  I.  6th  Imp.,  Vol.  II.  5lh  Imp.) 
St.  Augustine,  Select  Letters.     J.  H.  Baxter. 
AusoNius.     H.  G.  Evelyn  White.     2  Vols.     (Vol.  II.  2nd  Imp.) 
Bede.     J.  E.  King.     2  Vols. 
Boethius  :     Tracts    and    De    Consolatioxe    Phtlosophiab. 

Rev.  H.  F.  Stewart  and  E.  K.  Rand.     (4/A  Imp.) 
Caesab  :   Civil  Wars.     A.  G.  Peskett.     {4th  Imp.) 
Caesab  :   Gallic  War.     H.  J.  Edwards.     {9th  Imp.) 
Cato  and  Varro  :    Db  Re  Rustica.     H.  B.  Ash  and  W.  D. 

Hooper.     {2nd  Imp.) 
Catullus.     F.  W.  Cornish ;    Tibullus.     J.  B.  Postgate ;    and 

Pervigilium  Veneris.     J.  W.  Mackail.     {llth  Imp.) 
Celsus  :    De   Medicina.     W.   G.   Spencer.     3  Vols.     (Vol.    I. 

3rd  Imp.  revised.) 
CicEBO  :   Brutus,  and  Obatob.     G.  L.  Hendrickson  and  H.  M. 

Hubbell.     {2nd  Imp.) 
CicEBO  :    De  FtviBus.     H.  Rackham.     (3rd  Imp.  revised.) 
Cicero  :    De  Inventione,  etc.     H.  M.  Hubbell. 
Cicero  :  De  Natura  Deorum  and  Academica.     H.  Rackham. 
Cicero  :   De  Offichs.     Walter  Miller.     {4th  Imp.) 
Cicero  :    De  Oratobb.     2  Vols.     E.  W.  Sutton  and  H.  Rack. 

ham.     (2nd  Imp.) 
Cicebo  :    De  Republica  and  De  Legibus.     Clinton  W.  Keyes. 

(3rd  Imp.) 
CiCEBO :     De    Senectute,    De    Amicitia,    De    Divinatione. 

W.  A  Falconer.     {5th  Imp.) 
CicEBO  :  In  Catilinam,  Pro  Flacco,  Pro  Mitrena,  Pro  Sulla. 

Louis  E.  Lord.     {2nd  Imp.  revised.) 
Cicero  :     Letters   to    Atticus.     E.    O.    Winstedt.     3    Vols. 

(Vol.  I.  6th  Imp.,  Vol.  II.  3rd  Imp.  and  Vol.  HI.  3rd  Imp.) 
Cicero  :    Letters  to  His  Friends.     W.  Gl}mn  Williams.     3 

Vols.     (Vols.  I.  and  II.  2nd  Imp.  revised.) 
CiCEEO  :  Philippics.     W.  C.  A.  Ker.     (2nd  Imp.  revised.) 


CiCEBO  :   Pbo  Abchia,  Post  Reditum,  De  Domo,  De  Habus- 

picuM  Responsis,  Pbo  Plancio.     N.  H.  Watts.     (2nd  Imp.) 
Ciceko  :    Pro  Caecina,  Pbo  Lege  Manilia,  Pro  Cluentio, 

Pro  Rabirio.     H.  Grose  Hodge.     {2nd  Imp.) 
Cicero  :  Pro  Milone,  In  Pisonem,  Pro  Scauro,  Pro  Fonteio, 

Pro  Rabirio  Postumo,  Pro  Marcello,  Pro  Ligario,  Peg 

Rege  Deiotabo.     N.  H.  Watts. 
Cicero  :    Pro  Quinctio,  Pro  Roscio  Amebino,  Pbo  Roscio 

CoMOEDO,  CoNTBA  RuixuM.     J.  H.  Freese.     {2nd  Imp.) 
CiCEEO  :   TuscuLAN  DISPUTATIONS.     J.  E.  King.     {2nd  Imp.) 
CiCEBO  :    Verrine  Orations.     L.  H.  G.  Greenwood.     2  Vols. 

(Vol.  I.  2nd  Imp.) 
Claudian.     M.  Platnauer.     2  Vols. 
Columella  :    De  Re  Rustica.     H.  B.  Ash.     3  Vols.     Vol.  I. 

{2nd  Imp.) 
CuBTius,  Q.  :   HiSTOBY  OF  Alexandeb.     J.  C.  Rolfe.     2  Vols. 
Flobus.     E.  S.  Forster,  and  Cobneltus  Nepos.     J.  C.  Rolfe. 

{2nd  Imp.) 
Fbontinus  :  Stbatagems  and  Aqueducts.     C.  E.  Bennett  and 

M.  B.  McElwain.     {2nd  Imp.) 
Fbonto  :   Cobbespondence.     C.  R.  Haines.     2  Vols. 
Gellius.     J.  C.  Rolfe.     3  Vols.     (Vol.  I.  and  II.  2nd  Imp.) 
Hobace  :     Odes    and    Epodes.     C.    E.    Bennett.     {I3th   Imp. 

revised. ) 
Hobace  :  Satires,  Epistles,  Abs  Poetica.     H.  R.  Fairclough. 

{6th  Imp.  revised.) 
Jebome  :  Selected  Letters.    F.  A.  Wright. 
Juvenal  and  Persius.     G.  G.  Ramsay.     {6th  Imp.) 
LiVY.     B.  O.  Foster,  F.  G.  Moore,  Evan  T.  Sage,  and  A.  C, 

Schlesinger.      14    Vols.     Vols.    I.-XIIf     (Vol.    I.    3rd    Imp., 

Vols.  II.-V.,  VII.,  IX.-XII.,  2nd  Imp.  revised.) 
Lucan.     J.  D.  Duff.     {2nd  Imp.) 
Lucretius.     W.  H.  D.  Rouse.     {6th  Imp.  revised.) 
Martial.     W.  G.  A.  Ker.     2  Vols.     (Vol.  I.  4<A  Imp.,  Vol.  II. 

3rd  Imp.  revised.) 
MiNOB   Latin    Poets  :    from  Publilius  Sybus   to  Rutilius 

Namatianus,    including    Gbattius,    Calpubnius    Siculus, 

Nemesianus,  Avianus,  and  others  with  "  Aetna  "  and  the 

"Phoenix."     J.  Wight  Duff  and  Arnold  M.  Duff.     {2nd  Imp.) 
Ovid  :    The  Art  of  Love  and  Other  Poems.     J.  H.  Mozley. 

(3rd  Imp.) 
Ovid  :   Fasti.     Sir  James  G.  Frazer. 

Ovid:  Heboid  es  and  Amobes.     Grant  Showerman.     {^th  Imp.) 
Ovid  :    Metamobphoses.     F.  J.  Miller.     2  Vols.     (Vol.  I.  9th 

Imp.,  Vol.  II.  7th  Imp.) 
Ovid  :    Tbistia  and  Ex  Ponto.     A.  L.  Wheeler.     (2nd  Imp.)  ^ 
Persius.     Cf.  Juvenal. 
Petbonius.       M.      Heseltine ;      Seneca  :      Apocolocyntosis. 

W.  H.  D.  Rouse.     {7th  Imp.  revised.) 
Plautus.     Paul  Nixon.     5  Vols.     (Vols.  I.  and  II.  4th  Imp., 

Vol.  III.  3rd  Imp.) 

2 


Flen'y  :   Lettebs.     Melmoth's  Translation  revised  by  W.  M.  L. 

Hutchinson.     2  Vols,     {oth  Imp.) 
Pliky  :   Natural  History.     H.  Rackham  and  W.  H.  S.  Jones. 

10  Vols.     Vols.  I.-V.     H.  Rackliam.     (Vols.  I.-III.  2nd /mp.) 
Propebtics.     H.  E.  Butler.     {5th  Imp.) 
Prcdentius.     H.  J.  Thomson,     2  Vols.     Vol.  I. 
QciKTiLiAN.     H.  E.  Butler.     4  Vols.     (2nd  Imp.) 
Remains  of  Old  Latin.     E.  H.  Warmington.     4  Vols.     Vol.  I. 

(EnNITJS      AXD      CaECILIUS.)      Vol.      II.       (LiVTUS,      Xaevtus, 

Pactjvxus,    Accirs.)     Vol.    III.     (Lucmus    and    Laws    of 
XII    Tables.)     Vol.    IV.     (2nd    Imp.)     (Archaic    Insckip- 

TIONS. ) 

Sallust.     J.  C.  Rolfe.     (3rd  Imp.  revised.) 

Scriptores  Histobiae  Acgustae.     D.  Magie.     3  Vols.     (Vol.  I. 

2nd  Imp.  revised.) 
Sexeca  :   Apocolocyntosis.     Cf.  Petboxtus. 
Seneca  :     Epistcxae    Mobales.     R.    M.    Gummere.     3    Vols. 

(Vol.  I.  3rd  Imp.,  Vols.  II.  and  III.  2nd  Imp.  revised.) 
Seneca  :    Mobal  Essays.     J.  W.  Basore.     3  Vols.     (Vol.  IT. 

3rd  Imp.,  Vol.  III.  2nd  Imp.  reinsed.) 
Seneca  :  Tbagedies.     F.  J.  Miller.     2  Vols.     (Vol.  I.  3rd  Imp., 

Vol.  II.  2nd  Imp.  rensed.) 
SiDONirs  :    Poems  end  Letters.     W.  B.   Anderson.     2  Vols. 

Vol.  I. 
SiLirs    iTALicrs.     J.    D.    Duff.     2   Vols.     (Vol.    I.    2nd    Imp., 

Vol.  II.  3rd  Imp.) 
Statfcs.     J.  H.  Mozley.     2  Vols. 
SuETO^^us.     J.  C.  Rolfe.     2  Vols.     (Vol.  I.  6th  Imp.,  Vol.  II. 

5th  Imp.  revised.) 
Tacitus  :      Dialogus.     Sir    Wm.     Peterson.     Agbicola     and 

Gebmania.     Maurice  Hutton.     {6th  Imp.) 
Tacitus  :   Histories  and  Annals.     C.  H.  Moore  and  J.  Jack- 
son.    4  Vols.     (Vols.  I.  and  II.  2nd  Imp.) 
Terence.     John  Sargeaunt.     2  Vols.     {6th  Imp.) 
Tertullxan  :    Apologia  and  De  Spectaculis.     T.  R.  Glover. 

MiNucics  Felix.     G.  H.  Rendall. 
Valerius  Flaccus.     J.  H.  Mozley.     (2nd  Imp.  revised.) 
Varro  :  De  Lingua  Latina.     R.  "G.Kent.     2  Vols.     (2nd/mp.) 
Veixeius  Paterculus  and  Res  Gestae  Dm  Augusti.     F.  W. 

Shiplev. 
ViRGru  "  H.  R.  Fairclough.     2  Vols.     (VoL  I.  I6th  Imp.,  Vol.  H. 

I2th  Imp.  revised.) 
ViTBUvTus  :  De  Abchitectuba.     F.  Granger.     2  Vols.     (VoL  I. 

2nd  Imp.) 


Greek  Authors 

Achilles  Tatius.     S.  Gaselee.     (2nd  Imp.) 

Aeneas    Tacticus,    Asclepiodotus    and    Onasandek.     The 

Illinois  Greek  Club.     {2nd  Imp.) 
Aeschines.     C.D.Adams.     {2nd  Imp.) 
Aeschylus.     H.    Weir    Smyth.     2    Vols.     (Vol.    1.    5th   Imp., 

Vol.  II.  4th  Imp.) 
Andocides,  Antiphon.     Cf.  Minor  Attic  Oratoks. 
Alciphron,  Aelian,  Philostratus :    Letters.     A.  R.  Benner  and 

F.  H.  Fobes. 
Apollodorus.     Sir  James  G.  Frazer.     2  Vols.     (2nd  Imp.) 
Apollonius  Rhodius.     R.  C.  Seaton.     {ith  Imp.) 
The  Apostolic  Fathers.     Kirsopp  Lake.     2  Vols.     (Vol.  I, 

6th  Imp.,  Vol.  II.  5th  Imp.) 
Appian's  Roman  History.     Horace  White.     4  Vols.     (Vol.  I. 

3rd  Imp.,  Vols.  II.,  III.  and  IV.  2nd  Imp.) 
Aratus.     Cf.  Callimachus. 
Aristophanes.     Benjamin    Bickley    Rogers.     3    Vols.    Verse 

trans,     {ith  Imp.) 
Aristotle  :   Art  of  Rhetoric.     J.  H.  Freese.     {3rd  Imp.) 
Aristotle  :     Athenian    Constitution,    Eudemian    Ethics, 

Vices  and  Virtues.     H.  Rackham.     (2nd  Imp.) 
Aristotle  :     Generation    of    Animals.     A.    L.    Peck.     (2nd 

Imp.) 
Aristotle  :   Metaphysics.     H.  Tredennick.     2  Vols.     (Vol.  I. 

3rd  Imp.,  Vol.  II.  2nd  Imp.) 
Aristotle  :    Minor  Works.     W.   S.   Hett.     On  Colours,   On 

Things  Heard,  On  Physiognomies,  On  Plants,  On  Marvellous 

Things  Heard,  Mechanical  Problems,   On  Indivisible  Lines, 

On  Position  and  Names  of  Winds. 
Aristotle  :    Nicomachean  Ethics.     H.  Rackham.     {5th  Imp. 

revised. ) 
Aristotle  :    Oeconomica  and  Magna  Moralia.     G.  C.  Arm- 
strong;   (with  Metaphysics,  Vol.  II.).     (2nd  Imp.) 
Aristotle  :   On  the  Heavens.     W.  K.  C.  Guthrie.     {2nd  Imp. 

revised. ) 
Aristotle  :    On  the  Soul,  Parva   Naturaha,  On  Breath. 

W.  S.  Hett.     (2nd  Imp.  revised.) 
Aristotle  :    Oroanon.     H.  P.  Cooke  and  H.   Tredennick.     2 

Vols.     (Vol.  I.  2nd  Imp.) 
Aristotle:    Parts  of  Animals.     A.  L.  Peck;    Motion  and 

Progression    of    Animals.     E.     S.     Forster.     (2nd    Imp. 

revised. ) 
Aristotle  :   Physics.     Rev.  P.  Wicksteed  and  F.  M.  Comford. 

2  Vols.     (2nd  Imp.) 
Aristotle  :     Poetics    and    Lonoinus.     W.    Hamilton    Fj^e; 

Demetrius  on  Style.     W.  Rhys  Roberts.     (3rd  Imp.  revised.) 
Aristotle  :   Politics.     H.  Rackham.     (3rd  Imp.  revised.) 
Aristotle  :    Problems.     W.  S.  Hett.     2  Vols.     (Vol.  I.  2nd 

Imp.  revised.) 

4 


Akistotub  :    Rhetobica   Ad   Ai.kxandbum   (with   Pboblems, 

Vol.  II.).     H.  Rackham. 
Abbiak  :    HiSTOBY  OF  Alexaxdeb  and  Ikdica.     Rev.  E.  Iliffe 

Robson.     2  Vols.     (2nd  Imp.) 
Athenaeus  :       Deipxosophistae.     C.     B.     Gulick.     7     Vols. 

(Vols.  I.,  v.,  and  VI.  '2nd  Imp.) 
St.  Basil  :    Lettebs.     R.  J.  Deferrari.     4  Vols.     (Vols.  I.,  II. 

and  IV.  2nd  Imp.) 
Callimachus  and  Lycophbox.     A.  W.  Mair;   Abatus.     G.  R. 

Mair.     {2nd  Imp.) 
Clement   of   Alexaxdbia.     Rev.    G.    W.    Butterworth.     {2nd 

Imp.) 

COLLCTHTJS.       Cf.  OpPIAN. 

Daphnis    and    Chloe.     Thomley's    Translation    reWsed     by 

J.     M.Bkimonds;      and     Pabthekius.      S.      Gaselee.       {3rd 

Imp.) 
Demosthenes  I :  Olynthiacs,  Philippics  and  Mixob  Obations  : 

I.-XVII.  AND  XX.     J.  H.  Vince. 
Demosthenes  II:     De  Cobona  and   Db   Falsa    Leqatione. 

C.  A.  Vince  and  J.  H.  Vince.     {2nd  Im.p.  revised.) 
Demosthenes  III :  Meidias,  Andbotion,  Abistocbates,  Timo- 

crates  and  Abistogeiton,  I.  and  II.     J.  H.  Vince. 
Demosthenes  IV-VI  :    Pbivate  Obations  and  In   Neaebam. 

A.  T.  Murray.     (\  ol.  I.  2nd  Imp.) 
Demosthenes  Vn  :  Funebal  Speech,  Ebotic  Essay,  Exobdia 

and  Lettebs.     X.  W.  and  N.  J.  DeWitt. 
Dio  Cassits  :    Roman  Histoey.     E.  Cary.     9  Vols.     (Vols.  I. 

and  II.  2nd  Imp.) 
Dio  Chbysostom.     J.  W.  Cohoon  and  H.   Lamar  Oosby.     5 

Vols.     Vols.  I.-IV.     (Vols.  I.  and  II.  2nd  Imp.) 
Diodobus  Sictjlus.     12  Vols.     Vols.  I.-IV.     C.  H.  Oldfather. 

Vol.  IX.     R.  M.  Geer.     (Vol.  I.  2nd  Imp.) 
Diogenes  Laebtlus.     R.  D.  Hicks.     2  Vols.     (Vol.  I.  3rd  Imp., 

Vol.  II.  2nd  Imp.) 
DiONYsius  of  Halicabnasstjs  :    Roman  Antiquities.     Spel- 

man's  translation  revised  by  E.  Cary.     7  Vols.  Vols.  I.-VL 

(Vol.  IV.  2nd  Imp.) 
EpiCTETtJS.     W.  A.  Oldfather.     2  Vols.     (Vols.  I.  and  11.  2nd 

Imp.) 
EcBiPLDES.     A.  S.  Way.     4  Vols.     (Vols.  I.  and  11.   &th  Imp., 

Vols.  in.  and  IV.  oth  Imp.)     Verse  trans. 
ExTSEBius :     Ecclesiastical    Histoby.     Kirsopp    Lake    and 

J.  E.  L.  Oulton.     2  Vols.     (VoL  I.  2nd /mp.,  VoL  IL  3rd  7mp.) 
Galen  :    On  the  Natitbal   Faculties.     A.  J.    Brock.    (3rd 

Imp.) 
The  Gbeek  Anthology.     W.  R.  Paton.     6  Vols.     (Vols.  I.  and 

II.  4th  Imp.,  Vols.  III.  and  IV.  3rd  Imp.) 
Gbeek  Elegy  and  Iambus  with  the  Anacbeontea.     J.   M. 

Edmonds.     2  Vols.     (Vol.  I.  2nd  Imp.) 
The  Gbeek  Bucolic  Poets   (Theocbitus,  Bion,  Moschus). 

J.  M.  Edmonds.     {6th  Imp.  revised.) 


Greek  Mathematical  Works.     Ivor  Thomas.     2  Vols.     (2nd 

Imp.) 
Herodes.     Cf.  Theophrastus  :  Characters. 
Herodotus.     A.  D.  Godley.     4  Vols.     (Vol.  I.  ith  Imp.,  Vols, 

II.-IV.  3rd  Imp.) 
Hesiod    and   The   Homeric    Hymns.     H.    G.    Evelyn    White. 
(6th  Imp.  revised  and  enlarged.) 
Hippocrates  and  the  Fragments  of  Heracleitus.     W.  H.  S. 

Jones  and  E.  T.  Withington.     4  Vols.     (Vol.  I.  3rd  Imp.,  Vole 

II.-IV.  2nd  Imp.) 
Homer:    Iliad.     A.T.Murray.     2  Vols.     {6th  Imp.) 
Homer:    Odyssey.     A.T.Murray.     2  Vols.     (1th  Imp.) 
IsAEUs.     E.  W.  Forster.     (2nd  Imp.) 
Isocrates.     George  Norlin.     3  Vols. 
St.  John  Damascene  :    Barlaam  and  Ioasaph.     Rev.  G.  R. 

Woodward  and  Harold  Mattingly.      (2nd  Imp.  revised.) 
Josephus.     H.  St.  J.  Thackeray  and  Ralph  Marcus.     9  Vols. 

Vols.  I.-VI.     (Vol.  V.  3rd  Imp.,  Vol.  VI.  2nd  Imp.) 
Julian.     Wilmer  Cave  Wright.     3  Vols.     (Vol.  I.    2nd  Imp., 

Vol.  II.  Srd/wp.) 
Lucian.     a.  M.  Harmon.     8  Vols.     Vols.  I.-V.     (Vols.  I-III. 

3rd  Imp.) 
Lycophron.     Cf.  Callimachus. 
Lyra  Graeca.     J.  M.  Edmonds.     3  Vols.     (Vol.  I.  3rd  Imp. 

Vol.   II.    2nd  Ed.   revised  and  enlarged.   Vol.   III.    3rd  Imp 

revised. ) 
Lysias.     W.  R.  M.  Lamb.     (2nd  Imp.) 
Maketho.     W.  G.  Waddell  :    Ptolemy  :    Tetrabiblos.     F.  E. 

Robbins.     (2nd  Imp.) 
Marcus  Aurelius.     C.  R.  Haines.     (3rd  Imp.  revised.) 
Menander.     F.  G.  Allinson.     (2nd  Imp.  revised.) 
Minor    Attic    Orators    (Antiphon,    Andocides,    Demades, 

Deinarchus,    Hypereides).     K.    J.    Maidment    and    J.    O. 

Burrt.     2  Vols.     Vol.  I.     K.  J.  Maidment. 
NONNOS.     W.  H.  D.  Rouse.     3  Vols.     (Vol.  III.  2nd  Imp.) 
Oppian,  Colluthus,  Tryphiodorus.     a.  W.  Mair. 
Papyri.     Non -Literary  Selections.     A.  S.  Hunt  and  C.  C. 

Edgar.     2  Vols.     (Vol.  I.  2nd  Imp.)     Literary  Selections. 

Vol.  I.  (Poetry).     D.  L.  Page. 
Parthenius.     Cf.  Daphnis  and  Chloe. 
Pausanias  :    Description  of  Greece.     W.  H.  S.  Jones.     5 

Vols,  and  Companion  Vol.     (Vols.  I.  and  III.  2nd  Imp.) 
Philo.      10  Vols.     Vols.  I.-V.;    F.  H.  Colson  and  Rev.  G.  H 

Whitaker.     Vols.  VI.-IX. ;    F.  H.  Colson.     (Vols.  I.,  II.,  V. 

VI.  and  VII.  2nd  Imp.,  Vol.  IV.  3rd  Imp.) 
Philostratus  :    The  Life  of  Apollonius  of  Tyana.     F.  C. 

Conybeare.     2  Vols.     (Vol.  I.  Uh  Imp.,  Vol.  II.  3rd  Imp.) 
Philostratus  :     Imagines  ;     Callistratus  :     Descriptions. 

A.  Fairbanks. 
Philostratus    and    Eunapius  :     Lives    of    the    Sophists. 

Wilmer  Cave  Wright.     (2nd  Imp.) 
6 


PiXDAB.     Sir  J.  E.  Sandys.     (7tfc  Imp.  revised.) 

Plato  :    Charmides,  Alcibiades,  Hipparchus,  The  Lovers, 

Theages,  Mixos  and  Epinomis.     W.  R.  M.  Lamb. 
Plato  :    Cratylus,  Parmexides,  Greater  Hippias,  Lesser 

HippiAS.     H.  N.  Fowler.     (2nd  Imp.) 
Plato  :    Euthyphro,  Apology,  Crito,  Phabdo,  Phaedbus. 

H.  N.  Fowler.     {9tA  Imp.) 
Plato  :  Laches,  Protagoras,  Meno,  Euthydemus.     W.  R.  M. 

Lamb.     {2nd  Imp.  revised.) 
■'Plato  :    Laws.     Rev.  R.  G.  Bury.     2  Vols.     {'2nd  Imp.) 
Plato  :    Lysis,  Symposium,  Gorgias.     W.  R.  M.  Lamb.     (4iA 

Imp.  revised.) 
Plato  :    Republic.     Paul  Shorev.     2  Vols.     (Vol.  I.  4<A  Imp., 

Vol.  II.  3rd  Imp.) 
Plato  :  Statesman,  Philebus.     H.  N.  Fowler ;  Ion.     W.  R.  M. 

Lamb.     (3rd  Imp.) 
Plato  :  Theaetetus  and  Sophist.     H.  N.  Fowler.     (3rd  Imp.) 
Plato  :  Timaeus,  Cbitias,  Clitopho,  Mexexexus,  Epistulae. 

Rev.  R.  G.  Bury.     {•2nd  Imp.) 
Plutarch  :    Moralia.     14  Vols.     Vols.  I.-V.     F.  C.  Babbitt  ; 

Vol.  VI.     W.  C.  Helmbold ;  Vol.  X.     H.  X.  Fowler.     (Vols.  I., 

III.,  and  X.  2nd  Imp.) 
Plutarch:      The    Parallel    Lives.     B.     Perrin.      II    Vols. 

(Vols.  I.,  n.,  and  ^^I.  3rd  Imp.,  Vols.  UI.,  IV.,  VI.,  and  VIII.- 
•      XL  2nd  Imp.) 

■PoLYBius.     W.  R.  Paton.     6  Vols. 
Pbocopius  :    History  of  the  Wars.     H.  B.  Dewing.     7  Vols. 

(Vol.  I.  2nd  Imp.) 
Ptolemy  :  Tetbabiblos.     CL  Manetho. 

QuEfTUS  Smyrxaeus.     a.  S.  Way.     Verse  trans.     (2nd  Imp.) 
Sextus  Empiricus.     Rev.  R.  G.   Bury.     4  Vols,     (Vol.   III. 

2nd  Imp.) 
Sophocles.     F.  Storr.     2  Vols.     (Vol.  I.  7th  Imp.,  Vol.  II.  5th 

Imp.)     Verse  trans. 
Strabo  :    Geography.     Horace  L.  Jones.     8  Vols.     (Vols.  I. 

3rd  Imp.,  Vols.  II.,  V.,  VI.,  and  VIII.  2nd  Imp.) 
Theophbastus  :     Characters.     J.    M.    Edmonds;     Herodes, 

etc.     A.  D.  Knox.     {2nd  Imp.) 
Theophrastus  :     Enquiry'   into   Plants.     Sir  Arthur   Hort., 

Bart.     2  Vols.     (2nd  Imp.) 
Thucydides.     C.  F.  Smith.     4  Vols.     (Vol.  I.  3rd  Imp.,  Vols. 

II.,  III.  and  IV.  2nd  Imp.  revised.) 
Tbyphiodorus.     Cf.  Opplax. 

Xenophon:  Cvropaedia.     Walt«r  ililler.     2  Vols.     {3rd  Imp.) 
'  Xexophox  :  Hellexica,  Anabasis,  Apology,  and  Symposium. 

C.  L.  Brownson  and  O.  J.  Todd.     3  Vols.     {3rd  Imp.) 
Xenophon  :  Memorabilia  and  Oeconomicus.     E.  C.  Marchant. 

(2nd  Imp.) 
Xenophon  :  Scrifta  Minoba.     E.  C.  Marchant.     (2nd  Imp.) 


IN   PREPARATION 


Greek  Authors 

Aristotle  :   De  Mundo.     W.  K.  C.  Guthrie. 
Aristotle  :   History  of  Animals.     A.  L.  Peck. 
Aristotle  :   Meteorologica.     H.  P.  Lee. 


Latin  Authors 

St.  Augustine  :  City  of  God.     W.  H.  Semple. 
[Cicero]  :   Ad  Herennium.     H.  Caplan. 

Cicero  :  Pro  Sestio,  In  Vatinium,  Pro  Caelio,  De  Provinciis 
CoNSULARiBus,  Pro  Balbo.     J.  H.  Freese  and  R.  Gardner. 


DESCRIPTIVE  PROSPECTUS  ON  APPLICATION 


London WILLIAM  HEINEMANN  LTD 

Cambridge,  Mass  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 


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